The status of alcohol as a risk factor for stroke.

A lcohol is consumed by millions of Americans / \ annually and poses a major health problem. JL \ . Alcohol-related problems plague an estimated 18 million adult Americans, of whom 10.6 million suffer from alcoholism. Experts estimate that 20-50% of all general hospital admissions, up to 50% of emergency room admissions, and 15% of office visits are alcohol-related and that alcohol is a factor in nearly 50% of all accidental deaths, suicides, and homicides." One in every 10 deaths is alcohol-related, and 200,000 Americans die of alcoholism annually. The economic cost of alcohol abuse and alcoholism was $117 billion in 1983 and is projected to rise to $136 billion in 1990 and $150 billion in 1995. Alcohol has long been recognized for its damaging effects to major organ systems. The ravages of alcohol on the liver, pancreas, gastrointestinal tract, heart, and developing fetus are well known to physicians. In addition, alcohol has been linked to various cancers, to hypertension, to male sexual dysfunction, and to bone disease.Perhaps the most noticeable adverse effects of alcohol are those on the nervous system.The clinical manifestations of acute alcohol intoxication reflect widespread cerebral depression and include varying degrees of excitational and disinhibited behavior, impaired coordination and motor performance, dulled cognitive abilities, and eventually stupor and coma. With chronic alcohol abuse there are abstinence syndromes, nutritional diseases, and disorders consequent to hepatic dysfunction. While the incidence of these disorders in the community