The risk for alcohol-related problems and alcohol consumption constantly change over an individual’s life span. Getting a good understanding on the effects of alcohol across different stages of life is very important in treating, diagnosis, and controlling alcohol abuse. This is a research conducted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. This paper outlines the different stages of line ranging from infancy to the seniors, and how they respond to alcohol consumption.
The first stage of alcohol effects on the body system is at the infancy stage. Research findings indicate in the United States, ten children in one hundred children are born with disorders of fetal Alcohol Spectrum. This is a condition which arises due to a woman consuming alcohol when she is pregnant. The syndrome of Fetal Alcohol is known to be the most dangerous condition of FASD (Riley & Wiley, 2011). This condition leads to infants who have abnormalities in their facial features. Such conditions include narrow eyes that are wide-set, nervous system problems, and complicated growth conditions. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders have adverse effects and they last a lifetime of children. They have no specific cure.
The next stage of alcohol consumption is at the adolescence stage, a period between the ages of twelve and seventeen. This is a stage where the major growth of brain and development is realized. Children at this age have a certain level of aggressiveness and arrogance (Riley & Wiley, 2011). They tend to try everything that others do, and succumb to pressures from their peers easily. Alcohol consumption at this stage is always at a very high rate. Studies reveal that alcohol consumption during adolescence stage may have long-term effects on the brain function and development.
The following stage of alcohol consumption is the Young Adulthood stage, the period between the ages of eighteen and twenty nine. This is a time of increased risks for alcohol related problems. Compared with the other ages, the youngest segment of this stage of development is at the highest risk of alcohol abuse compared with the other stages of development. This group of development is likely to suffer addiction problems and my experience difficulties in trying to recover.
The next level of development in alcohol consumption is the Midlife Stage. This ranges from the ages of thirty to fifty nine. This stage of development displays the evidence of heavy drinking that was done over the lower stages of development from infancy (Riley & Wiley, 2011). People at this stage develop conditions such as diseases of the heart, brain, circulatory system, immune system, several types of cancer, and alcoholic several disease. This is an extremely dangerous stage of alcohol consumption, where the individual needs close medical intervention, failure of which might lead to death.
The last stage of alcohol consumption is the Seniors Stage. At this level, the senior adults tend to consume less alcohol compared to the other stages of age groups. Research shows that the longer people live, the higher the chances they have to change from alcohol drinking habits. Seniors have a greater use of prescription drugs, a situation that may put them at a higher risk with alcohol consumption (Riley & Wiley, 2011). Seniors, therefore, are at a delicate stage where they need to be overseen and their levels of alcohol consumption regulated.
Drinking of alcohol is something that should be regulated by all individuals because it affects all the stages of development. All people in the world should, therefore, regulate their levels of drinking alcohol.
References
Riley, E. P., & Wiley InterScience (Online service) (2011). Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: Management and policy perspectives of FASD. Weinheim: Wiley-Blackwell.
WHO Expert Committee on Problems Related to Alcohol Consumption (2007). WHO Expert Committee on Problems Related to Alcohol Consumption: Second report. Geneva: World Health Organization.
