Consequences of Alcohol Abuse or Dependence

System/category	Early consequences	Late consequences
Liver disease	Elevated liver enzyme levels	Fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, cirrhosis
Pancreatic disease		Acute pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis
Cardiovascular disease	Hypertension	Cardiomyopathy, arrhythmias, stroke
Gastrointestinal problems	Gastritis, gastroesophageal reflux disease, diarrhea, peptic ulcer disease	Esophageal varices, Mallory-Weiss tears
Neurologic disorders	Headaches, blackouts, peripheral neuropathy	Alcohol withdrawal syndrome, seizures, Wernicke's encephalopathy, dementia, cerebral atrophy, peripheral neuropathy, cognitive deficits, impaired motor functioning
Reproductive system disorders	Fetal alcohol effects, fetal alcohol syndrome	Sexual dysfunction, amenorrhea, anovulation, early menopause, spontaneous abortion
Cancers		Neoplasm of the liver, neoplasm of the head and neck, neoplasm of the pancreas, neoplasm of the esophagus
Psychiatric comorbidities	Depression, anxiety	Affective disorders, anxiety disorders, antisocial personality
Legal problems	Traffic violations, driving while intoxicated, public intoxication	Motor vehicle accidents, violent offenses, fires
Employment problems	Tardiness, sick days, inability to concentrate, decreased competence	Accidents, injury, job loss, chronic unemployment
Family problems	Family conflict, erratic child discipline, neglect of responsibilities, social isolation	Divorce, spouse abuse, child abuse or neglect, loss of child custody
Effects on children	Overresponsibility, acting out, withdrawal, inability to concentrate, school problems, social isolation	Learning disorders, behavior problems, emotional disturbance