High alcohol levels in women limit
According to Tynjälä et al. (2012), research utilizes gender as a risk factor for alcohol-related liver illnesses. Women are susceptible to a cumulative dose of alcohol than men. The risk remains even after eliminating alcohol consumption in their life. The research was based on the gastric ADH theory. However, high gastric levels can also be found in the intestine and stomach. Gastric ADH is crucial in alcohol metabolism in the digestive system; it helps convert alcohol to acetaldehyde, which metabolizes to water and carbon dioxide. With women, the enzyme amount is lesser than those of men (Guy and Peters,2013). Therefore, when a male and female consumes the same amount of alcohol at large amounts. The latter will be found with high alcohol levels than the other one, which leads to cirrhosis of the liver.
Gastric protection is lost faster than men, thus creating a first-pass metabolism that impairs the liver functioning with time. Nevertheless, women have a faster gastric emptying rate than men and faster hepatic oxidation of ethanol, which opposes the functioning of gastric enzymes, which impairs liver functioning (Guy and Peters,2013). The high levels of ingested alcohol reach faster to the liver in women than men, exposing women to higher liver damage chances than men. The ADH theory justifies that women have a higher rate of liver damage due to alcohol than men.
The Erol and Karpyak (2015) research uses the difference in fatty acids, metabolism rate between the female and female theory of one gender having more liver damage than the other. Chronic consumption of alcohol inhibits the pathway of fatty acids metabolism located in the mitochondria. Alcohol consumption affects the process because it reduces the rate at which β-oxidation happens in the human body. Alcohol consumption also reduces the adiponectin hormones’ production rate, regulating insulin resistance levels and fatty acid oxidation. The process harms the liver by facilitating fatty acids accumulation in the liver. Guy and Peters (2013) research on rats discovered that fatty acid activation in alcoholic people is less efficient in females than males. The estrogenic receptor concentration within the liver differs between the various gender, contributing to the activation of the Kupffer cells (Osana et al.,2017). The difference results in increased inflammation and necrosis; however, it can be treated using antioestrogen. From the study, it can be seen the hormones increase the chances, but they can be reduced through treatment. However, women who engage in chronic alcohol intake do not treat the weakness, thus increasing their liver damage chances than men.
Similarly, Guy and Peter’s (2013) study claimed that high alcohol levels in women limit the breakdown of women’s fatty acids than men. The gender biological differences have contributed to having more women suffering from liver cirrhosis and requiring organ transplant than men. Furthermore, the study reviewed an acute liver failure study group that integrated 23 sites from 1998 to 2007. The research showed that 71 % out of the 1147 patients were women hospitalized due to liver injury induced by alcohol. Nevertheless, the research findings should not justify gender as a predictive factor of survival in acute liver failure. Both men and women have chances of suffering from liver failure. However, women have a higher chance than men.
Referencing
Erol, A.; and Karpyak, V. (2015). Sex and gender-related differences in alcohol use and its consequences: Contemporary knowledge and future research considerations. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 156:1–13.
Guy, J., & Peters, M. G. (2013). Liver disease in women: the influence of gender on epidemiology, natural history, and patient outcomes. Gastroenterology & hepatology, 9(10), 633.
Osna, N. A., Donohue Jr, T. M., & Kharbanda, K. K. (2017). Alcoholic liver disease: Pathogenesis and current management. Alcohol research: current reviews, 38(2), 147.
Tynjälä, J., Kangastupa, P., Laatikainen, T., Aalto, M., & Niemelä, O. (2012). Effect of age and gender on the relationship between alcohol consumption and serum GGT: time to recalibrate normal ranges goals. Alcohol and alcoholism, 47(5), 558-562.