by Lisa Frederiksen
The George Washington University Medical Center has an 
incredible website, Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems. One of the pieces you will find there is it’s “ Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems, Primter 1, Executive Summary.” I am going to highlight some of the concepts raised in this document below:
1. Alcoholism is a diagnosable, chronic relapsing disease; so are asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure.
2. Society continues to view alcoholism as a social problem rather than a health issue.
3. Advances in neuroscience have enabled scientists and medical professionals to discover the biological roots of alcoholism and study the brain chemistry changes that contribute to an addiction to alcohol (alcoholism). These advances have resulted in new medical treatments for alcoholism.
4. Doctors can now prescribe medication along with behavioral changes to treat alcoholism; just as doctors prescribe medications and behavioral changes when they treat patients with asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure.
5. Treating patients with alcoholism, similar to treating patients with other chronic diseases, calls for them to follow treatment recommendations that include education, counseling and medication. Those that follow the treatment recommendations experience great improvement during treatment and “for 6-12 months afterwards; [with] 40 – 60 percent remain[ing] continuously abstinent after a year…..”
6. Treating chronic diseases is difficult, however, if patients do not follow the recommended behavioral changes, in addition to any medications prescribed. While 40% of patients with diabetes or high blood pressure and nearly 60% of those with diabetes take their medications, less than a third of them are “able to make the behavioral changes necessary to improve their health and prevent re-occurrence of symptoms” [with the disease of alcoholism, that would be known as a 'relapse']. “During the course of a year, 30-50 percent of adults with diabetes and 50-70 percent of adults with high blood pressure or asthma will suffer a re-occurrence of their symptoms severe enough to require medical intervention, sometimes including hospitalization.”
7. When an alcoholic experiences a relapse, they are considered weak-willed; not committed, and treatment is viewed as having failed. This is not the case when treating adults with asthma, diabetes or high blood pressure who experience re-occurring symptoms. They are viewed as needing further or modified treatment.
8. Treatment of diabetes, high blood pressure or asthma is viewed as ongoing, with continued monitoring and modifications. It is also out in the open. Not true with alcoholism. It is generally treated in secrecy, shrouded in shame, with little medical, ongoing follow-up because society still views it as an acute illness, rather than a chronic relapsing disease. This is born out in the way health insurance discriminates against alcoholism treatments vs other chronic disease treatments. For example, “Medicare only pays 50 percent of outpatient treatment costs for alcoholism, compared to 80 percent for other diseases.” Because alcoholism is not viewed as a chronic disease, nearly 75 percent of people with serious drinking problems do not seek treatment.
9. Early screening and interventions with symptoms of asthma, diabetes and heart disease is common. Not so with serious drinking problems and/or alcoholism.
10. The genetic risks for developing asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure are comparable to the genetic risks for developing alcoholism — estimated to be 50 to 60 percent.
We have a long, long way to go. Consider these numbers (also from this report):
Alcohol-Related Problems Diabetes
Prevalence 13.8 million people 10 million people
(includes 8.1 million
with alcoholism)
Total Economic Costs $ 185 billion $ 98.1 billion
Health Care Costs $ 26.3 billion $ 44.1 billion
Clearly, we need to start treating alcoholism for what it is — a chronic relapsing disease — the same way we treat other chronic diseases. The George Washington University Medical Center’s website offers a great starting point for informing policy makers, business leaders, medical professionals and society at large about this important shift in thinking.
by Lisa Frederiksen
The George Washington University Medical Center has an
incredible website, Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems. One of the pieces you will find there is it’s “ Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems, Primter 1, Executive Summary.” I am going to highlight some of the concepts raised in this document below:
1. Alcoholism is a diagnosable, chronic relapsing disease; so are asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure.
2. Society continues to view alcoholism as a social problem rather than a health issue.
3. Advances in neuroscience have enabled scientists and medical professionals to discover the biological roots of alcoholism and study the brain chemistry changes that contribute to an addiction to alcohol (alcoholism). These advances have resulted in new medical treatments for alcoholism.
4. Doctors can now prescribe medication along with behavioral changes to treat alcoholism; just as doctors prescribe medications and behavioral changes when they treat patients with asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure.
5. Treating patients with alcoholism, similar to treating patients with other chronic diseases, calls for them to follow treatment recommendations that include education, counseling and medication. Those that follow the treatment recommendations experience great improvement during treatment and “for 6-12 months afterwards; [with] 40 – 60 percent remain[ing] continuously abstinent after a year…..”
6. Treating chronic diseases is difficult, however, if patients do not follow the recommended behavioral changes, in addition to any medications prescribed. While 40% of patients with diabetes or high blood pressure and nearly 60% of those with diabetes take their medications, less than a third of them are “able to make the behavioral changes necessary to improve their health and prevent re-occurrence of symptoms” [with the disease of alcoholism, that would be known as a 'relapse']. “During the course of a year, 30-50 percent of adults with diabetes and 50-70 percent of adults with high blood pressure or asthma will suffer a re-occurrence of their symptoms severe enough to require medical intervention, sometimes including hospitalization.”
7. When an alcoholic experiences a relapse, they are considered weak-willed; not committed, and treatment is viewed as having failed. This is not the case when treating adults with asthma, diabetes or high blood pressure who experience re-occurring symptoms. They are viewed as needing further or modified treatment.
8. Treatment of diabetes, high blood pressure or asthma is viewed as ongoing, with continued monitoring and modifications. It is also out in the open. Not true with alcoholism. It is generally treated in secrecy, shrouded in shame, with little medical, ongoing follow-up because society still views it as an acute illness, rather than a chronic relapsing disease. This is born out in the way health insurance discriminates against alcoholism treatments vs other chronic disease treatments. For example, “Medicare only pays 50 percent of outpatient treatment costs for alcoholism, compared to 80 percent for other diseases.” Because alcoholism is not viewed as a chronic disease, nearly 75 percent of people with serious drinking problems do not seek treatment.
9. Early screening and interventions with symptoms of asthma, diabetes and heart disease is common. Not so with serious drinking problems and/or alcoholism.
10. The genetic risks for developing asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure are comparable to the genetic risks for developing alcoholism — estimated to be 50 to 60 percent.
We have a long, long way to go. Consider these numbers (also from this report):
Alcohol-Related Problems Diabetes
Prevalence 13.8 million people 10 million people
(includes 8.1 million
with alcoholism)
Total Economic Costs $ 185 billion $ 98.1 billion
Health Care Costs $ 26.3 billion $ 44.1 billion
Clearly, we need to start treating alcoholism for what it is — a chronic relapsing disease — the same way we treat other chronic diseases. The George Washington University Medical Center’s website offers a great starting point for informing policy makers, business leaders, medical professionals and society at large about this important shift in thinking.