Effects of Drug Addiction on Women

Drug addiction affects not only the careers, relationships and finances in addicts' lives, but also has some very powerful physical effects. For women, addiction to alcohol, street or prescription drugs can lead to many physical problems in their reproductive organs and in pregnancy, as well as changes in mood and decision-making abilities.

The Menstrual Cycle

• The menstrual cycle often becomes erratic or even stops altogether. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, cravings for the drug often rise and fall with a woman's cycle while she is still having periods.

Pregnancy

• According to the American Pregnancy Association, drug abuse can make it harder for a woman to get pregnant but much easier to have a miscarriage or a baby with birth defects (see Resources).

Early Menopause

• A woman usually starts menopause at 45 to 55 years old. But according to "Drug Addiction Research & the Health of Women," drug addiction can bring on early menopause in the forties and even thirties (see Resources).

Cirrhosis

• According to "Alcohol and Temperance in Modern History," women alcoholics die of cirrhosis sooner than men because their livers cannot process large quantities of alcohol (see Resources).

Depression

• According to The Canyon rehabilitation center, women often turn to drugs or alcohol as a means of coping with depression more so than men. However, the drugs and alcohol often make the depression much worse (see Resources).