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Factsheets
The fact sheets provide a summary of important alcohol-related information across a broad range of topics relevant to the veteran community. They will be useful to those veterans and their family members who are seeking background detail that goes beyond that supplied on the website pages. The fact sheets will also be useful to health professionals, educators and students.
The following fact sheets can be accessed from within this site:
Guidelines for alcohol consumption
The four guidelines from the National Health and Medical Research Council's (NHMRC) Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol (2009) are presented along with comparison to the previous guidelines. The new guidelines recommend lower limits for regular drinking for males (2 standard drinks on any day to reduce harm over the lifetime of the drinker, and no more than 4 drinks on any one occasion to reduce the chance of injury resulting from that occasion).
Guidelines for alcohol consumption (309KB)
The effects of alcohol on the body
Alcohol has some immediate or short-term physical effects on the body as a whole, including the brain, the gut and pancreas, the heart and circulation, sleep control and sexual functions. This fact sheet details the many problems, both in the short and long-term, that can arise from intoxication or heavy regular use of alcohol. Groups of people that are more susceptible to the effects of alcohol are identified.
The effects of alcohol on the body (307KB)
Alcohol and injury
The toll of death and injury from alcohol-related accidents is immense in Australia. This fact sheet details some of the more common accidents and their prevalence rates. While males are particularly prone to a wide range of alcohol-related accidents and injuries, women are also at risk of harm, particularly younger women engaging in binge drinking. Alcohol is associated with at least 50% of domestic violence.
Alcohol and heart disease
Much attention is given to the protective effects of alcohol on heart functioning as people age, but as this fact sheet shows the benefit is very small and more can be achieved by a healthy lifestyle. However, it is well established that heavy drinking is harmful to the heart and associated with high blood pressure, strokes, peripheral vascular disease and weakness of the heart muscle.
Alcohol and heart disease (307KB)
Alcohol dependence
Regular use of alcohol can result in alcohol dependence. People with severe alcohol dependency will experience major problems in all areas of their lives. Dependency can cause depression and anxiety states and will certainly make all psychological conditions worse. Relationships are severely impaired by alcohol dependency. This fact sheet provides the key features of dependency and also describes the groups that are at greater risk of developing alcohol dependency.
Alcohol and men's health
Males have consistently higher rates of alcohol-related deaths and hospitalisations than do females. This fact sheet provides the evidence across many acute and chronic conditions.
Alcohol and men's health (301KB)
Alcohol and women's health
While the rates of alcohol related injuries and deaths are higher in males, females cannot be complacent as they are, on average, more vulnerable to the harmful effects of alcohol, at low doses, than are males. Women will also become more quickly intoxicated than most males. The reasons for this gender difference are given in this fact sheet.
Alcohol and women's health (299KB)
Alcohol and mental health
There is a two-way relationship between alcohol and mental health conditions. Those with mental health conditions are at high risk of developing alcohol problems and alcohol dependency if they drink regularly and heavily. However, anyone who drinks at high-risk levels can also develop a mental health condition as a consequence of their alcohol use, and often depression and anxiety will greatly reduce in these people after a few weeks of abstinence. This fact sheet discusses the complex relationship between alcohol and mental health.
Alcohol and mental health (297KB)
Alcohol and older people
As people age they become more susceptible to the effects of alcohol. They will become more intoxicated and impaired at lower doses and be at greater risk of harmful physical effects and accidents, particularly falls. Harmful interactions between alcohol and multiple medications are of particular concern in the elderly. This fact sheet explains why older people need to drink minimal amounts of alcohol and perhaps consider abstinence if in ill health.
Alcohol and older people (302KB)
Medications
Alcohol can interact in harmful ways with many prescribed and over-the-counter medications, and with some herbal preparations. These interactions can change the effect of the alcohol and/or the medication. These changes can take place at low levels of drinking (as low as one drink). Some harmful interactions of alcohol with commonly prescribed medications are given. People taking medication for mental health conditions and/or for serious health conditions are advised to seek medical opinion before using alcohol.
Alcohol and medications (298KB)