In simple words: Alcohol abuse is when someone drinks too much alcohol, and it harms their health, relationships, and daily life.They might have trouble at work or school, feel anxious or depressed, or have problems with coordination and memory. Drinking too much can also lead to serious health issues like liver disease, heart problems, and some types of cancer. Treatment includes therapy, support groups, and sometimes medicine to help people stop drinking.

Alcohol abuse refers to a psychiatric condition in which excessive alcohol consumption jeopardizes one’s health and negatively affects one’s work, school, family, and social life. Harmful alcohol consumption is defined as more than 14 drinks per week or 4 drinks per occasion for men, and more than 7 drinks per week or 3 drinks per occasion for women and those over 65.Symptoms include memory loss, poor coordination, anxiety, depression, and behavior problems. Alcohol abuse can contribute to liver cirrhosis, kidney cancer, pancreatitis, and cardiovascular and gastrointestinal disorders.Diagnosis is based on patient history, signs and symptoms, social behavior, physical examination, and laboratory studies (blood tests for alcohol and thiamine levels). Treatment approaches include behavioral therapy, counseling, group therapy, residential treatment, thiamine supplementation, and medications like disulfiram, naltrexone, and acamprosate.

Example 1: A 45-year-old male patient presents with a history of increasing alcohol consumption over the past year, leading to job loss and strained family relationships. He experiences withdrawal symptoms when he tries to stop drinking., A 25-year-old female college student reports frequent binge drinking episodes, resulting in missed classes and risky behaviors. She denies dependence but acknowledges the negative impact of alcohol on her life., A 60-year-old female patient with a history of alcohol abuse presents with early signs of liver disease. She expresses a desire to reduce her alcohol intake and improve her health.

Type of alcohol abuse, current severity, any complications (e.g., liver disease, pancreatitis), remission status, blood alcohol level (if applicable).