Almost 88,000 people die from alcohol related causes each year, making it the fourth leading preventable cause of death in the United States. With the increasing number of deaths each year, alcohol consumption has become an increasing concern. Alcoholism can be defined as a condition that prevents people from being able to control their alcohol consumption. A disease can be defined as an abnormal condition of a structure or function of one part of the body that affects the whole body and prevents it from functioning properly. Alcohol and disease can be analyzed together making the statement that alcoholism is a disease.
Alcohol consumption can have a drastic effect on almost every organ of the body. Drinking too much can cause problems in …show more content…
High blood pressure is when the force of the blood is too high against the wall of the arteries. Arrhythmias can also cause high blood pressure since the irregularity of the heart beat can change the amount of blood being pumped to the organs. The liver is one of the major organs in the body that detoxifies chemicals, metabolizes drugs and produces bile that line the intestines. Alcoholism can cause many problems to the liver such as inflammation, steatosis, alcoholic hepatitis, fibrosis, and cirrhosis. Steatosis is when the liver is infiltrated with fat because of the change in metabolism caused by the alcohol in the system. Alcoholic hepatitis is when the liver is inflamed because of excessive amounts of the alcohol over a short period of time. Fibrosis is the formation of large amount of scar tissue. Cirrhosis is liver damage that can lead to scarring and liver failure. The function of the pancreas is to convert the food consumed into fuel the body can use to function. Increased amounts of alcohol can cause the pancreas to produce toxic substances and eventually …show more content…
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, increased alcohol consumption can prevent the body from functioning properly and mainly,prevent the person from thinking clearly and making rational decisions. The effects of these failed decisions can be analyzed when looking at the fatalities caused by increased alcohol consumption. Even though the number of deaths caused by drunk driving has decreased since 1985 from 41% to 31% in 2014, a large number of deaths are still caused by drunk driving and mainly underage drinking (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism). In 2014, there was an alcohol impaired traffic fatality every 53 minutes (Insurance Information Institute). According to the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 34.7% of 15 year olds reported that they have had at least one drink in their lives (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism). Research shows that the effects of alcohol in the body analyzed in the previous paragraph will be increased or will have a much more drastic effect on the adolescent body than the adult body. Alcohol consumption at a young age could cause problems with adolescent brain development and increase the risk of developing an AUD, Alcohol Use Disorder (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism). These problems in brain development prevent young adults from making rational decisions that eventually put other people’s
Alcohol consumption can have a drastic effect on almost every organ of the body. Drinking too much can cause problems in …show more content…
High blood pressure is when the force of the blood is too high against the wall of the arteries. Arrhythmias can also cause high blood pressure since the irregularity of the heart beat can change the amount of blood being pumped to the organs. The liver is one of the major organs in the body that detoxifies chemicals, metabolizes drugs and produces bile that line the intestines. Alcoholism can cause many problems to the liver such as inflammation, steatosis, alcoholic hepatitis, fibrosis, and cirrhosis. Steatosis is when the liver is infiltrated with fat because of the change in metabolism caused by the alcohol in the system. Alcoholic hepatitis is when the liver is inflamed because of excessive amounts of the alcohol over a short period of time. Fibrosis is the formation of large amount of scar tissue. Cirrhosis is liver damage that can lead to scarring and liver failure. The function of the pancreas is to convert the food consumed into fuel the body can use to function. Increased amounts of alcohol can cause the pancreas to produce toxic substances and eventually …show more content…
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, increased alcohol consumption can prevent the body from functioning properly and mainly,prevent the person from thinking clearly and making rational decisions. The effects of these failed decisions can be analyzed when looking at the fatalities caused by increased alcohol consumption. Even though the number of deaths caused by drunk driving has decreased since 1985 from 41% to 31% in 2014, a large number of deaths are still caused by drunk driving and mainly underage drinking (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism). In 2014, there was an alcohol impaired traffic fatality every 53 minutes (Insurance Information Institute). According to the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 34.7% of 15 year olds reported that they have had at least one drink in their lives (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism). Research shows that the effects of alcohol in the body analyzed in the previous paragraph will be increased or will have a much more drastic effect on the adolescent body than the adult body. Alcohol consumption at a young age could cause problems with adolescent brain development and increase the risk of developing an AUD, Alcohol Use Disorder (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism). These problems in brain development prevent young adults from making rational decisions that eventually put other people’s