Alcohol has a very long history of use (perhaps as early as 8000 BC) and it is the most commonly used psychoactive drug after caffeine in the US. Because of its popularity, almost everyone has some idea on the effects of alcohol, although some of these ideas are misconceptions based on myth. One fact about alcohol, that a lot of people would probably say they already knew, is that it has different effects on males and females.

Traditionally, scientific research about the effects of alcohol has focused on males because of the assumption that alcohol consumption and alcoholism are more prevalent in males than females. This assumption is true in that alcoholism is higher in men (20%) than in women (5-6%). Nevertheless, one consensus among scientists is that medical issues caused by alcohol use are much more severe in women than men, and they develop more quickly. To be more specific, death rate of female alcoholics is considerably higher than that of male alcoholics. This difference stems from many factors including metabolic, genetic, hormonal and physiological differences between the two sexes.

Here are a few differences seen between the two sexes that cause different symptoms for them:

1. Men have a more efficient way of digesting the alcohol in the stomach.

Alcohol starts being broken down in the stomach by an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase. Female bodies have a less efficient mechanism to do this job than males.

2. Women have smaller liquid volume than men.

When alcohol mixes with the liquid (blood) in our body, it will be more condensed in female bodies, and more diluted in male bodies. When it is dilute, blood alcohol content (BAC) is lower, leading to lesser physiological and behavioral changes.

3. Women experience more acute behavioral effects than men.

Since BAC predicts the effects of alcohol, women tend experience increased memory impairment, greater likelihood of experiencing blackouts, and increased impairment in movement.

4. Women also tend to experience more severe damage to their organs.

Women's risk of liver damage, blood disorders, breast cancer, and infertility are higher than that of men.

5. Hormonal differences expose women to higher severity of changes in the body.

Estrogen, which is produced in female bodies a lot more abundantly than male bodies may speed up liver damage.

6. Women are more exposed to brain damage induced by alcohol then men.

Brain damage in women take fewer years of heavy drinking then men. This brain damage ultimately results in cognitive impairments such as problems with memory.

7. The effects of alcohol on the "communication" of our brain within itself, and with the rest of our body is different for men and women.

Some recent studies have revealed that increased "communication" within the brain as a result of alcohol consumption is seen to a greater extent in women than men.

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