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CHICAGO, IL, February 22, 1999. Dr. Tonda Hughes, a nurse researcher at the University of Illinois at Chicago has received a four-year grant from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health (NIH), to conduct the first federally funded study on lesbians' use of alcohol. This award coincides with the release of a major report on lesbian health by the Institute of Medicine which concludes that additional research is needed to determine if lesbians may be at higher risk for specific health concerns.
Little information currently exists on lesbians' alcohol use. However, some studies have suggested that, unlike heterosexual women whose use of alcohol declines with age, drinking among lesbians may actually increase with age. Other comparison studies of lesbians and heterosexual women show more alcohol-related problems among lesbians, such as difficulty cutting back on drinking or concerns about the amount they drink. These findings, if supported, have important implications for lesbians' health including increased risk of liver and heart disease, accidents and injury, and potential greater risk of breast cancer.
Dr. Hughes, an expert on lesbians and addictions who has studied women's drinking behavior for more than a decade, will explore patterns of drinking and risk factors for heavy drinking among 400 lesbians in the Chicago area, who will be recruited through community groups. Her study is also expected to provide important information on other risk factors including lesbians' nontraditional roles, the impact of discrimination and stigma, and social networking behaviors that often encourage socializing in bars.
"This study represents an important breakthrough in lesbian health research, and will provide urgently needed information on a major health concern for lesbians, " said Caitlin Ryan, a lesbian health researcher who initiated the National Lesbian Health Care Survey in the early 1980s. "Funding by the NIH will help put lesbians and addictions on the federal research agenda."
"Myths and stereotypes of lesbians as alcoholics and heavy drinkers are largely based on studies conducted in the 1970s that recruited most of their samples from gay bars," noted Dr. Hughes. "This study is designed to provide a much more realistic picture of the patterns and variability of lesbians' drinking, and to provide information for developing alcohol abuse prevention and early intervention strategies."
