Most critical to the problem of alcoholism is the effect of alcohol on the brain itself. After years of heavy use, an alcoholic may suffer nutritional deficiency, repeated episodes of trauma, liver failure, and lesions on the brain due to the toxic effects of alcohol and its breakdown products. In many alcoholics, these accumulated insults result in social deterioration, inability to work and severely disabling disorders of memory and cognition. With continued drinking this may culminate in death.
Alcohol abuse can lead to a variety of chronic health disorders.
Liver disease, the most prominent of these disorders, is the leading cause of death in alcoholics. In addition, it has long been know that alcohol lessens inhibitions. In Bergen County, alcohol is the leading drug of choice when aggregated treatment statistics are examined. Bergen County's highest ranking on risk indicators was population density, as the fourth most densely populated county in the state. For example, in an area such as Bergen County, where a higher proportion of residents have medical insurance, adults who are addicted are more likely to be treated in hospitals not in the public system.