Women face gaps in tailored alcohol treatment in states with higher disorder rates
· Medical Xpressedited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Alexander Pol
Sadie Harley
Scientific Editor
Meet our editorial team
Behind our editorial process
Alexander Pol
Deputy Editor
Meet our editorial team
Behind our editorial process Editors' notes
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:
fact-checked
trusted source
proofread
The GIST Add to Preferred Sources
The historical gap in binge drinking, alcohol use disorder (AUD) and alcohol-related deaths between men and women has narrowed substantially over the last several decades in the United States, with binge drinking rates among women ages 18–25 exceeding men's rates in the same age group for the first time in 2024.
With this rapid increase in risk for AUD and AUD-related complications, women could benefit substantially from alcohol treatment programs that are tailored to their unique needs. But there is a dearth of knowledge about the availability of women-specific alcohol treatment in the U.S. and how these services may differ by state.
A new study led by researchers at Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) now fills this gap, finding that the estimated prevalence of AUD among women—as well as the availability of women-specific alcohol treatment services—varies widely across U.S. states.
Published in Substance Use & Addiction Journal, the results show that estimated state-level AUD prevalence among women ranged from approximately 6% to 13%, with all New England states and several in the West and Midwest exceeding the national average of 8% among women.
More than 40% of addiction treatment facilities did not offer women-specific treatment, and services targeted toward women—especially child care—were disproportionately unavailable in many states that had higher-than-average estimated AUD prevalence among women.
The study is the first to explore state-level differences in AUD among women and the availability of women-specific services in treatment facilities.
"Women are drinking more and experiencing significant health consequences from alcohol use," says study senior author Dr. Maureen Stewart, research associate professor of health law, policy and management at BUSPH.
"At the same time, alcohol treatment rates are abysmally low. Our findings show there is a substantial need for treatment targeted toward women's unique experiences. Making alcohol treatment more tailored to women's needs could help women access treatment."
Research shows that alcohol treatment programs that are tailored to women's needs have had greater success in reducing substance use and mental health symptoms among women than programs that lack these services, she adds.
"Knowing the states in which women bear the greatest burden of AUD yet lack access to treatment services for their needs can help direct resources efficiently and reduce the barriers preventing women from accessing treatment."
For the study, researchers from BUSPH, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health (Columbia) and Boston Medical Center's (BMC) Grayken Center for Addiction utilized publicly available national and state-level data to estimate the state-level prevalence of AUD among women, as well as the state-level prevalence of addiction treatment facilities offering women-specific services in 2024 and the proportion of facilities with these specialized services per 10,000 adult women with AUD.
The estimated prevalence of AUD among women ranged from 6.2% of women in Utah to 12.7% of women in Washington, D.C. The researchers say the disproportionate burden of AUD among women across states in New England, the Midwest and West, with lower prevalence in Southern states, is likely a result of multiple factors, including alcohol taxes and other policies, cultural differences in attitudes toward drinking, persistent stigma toward AUD and AUD health care availability.
"Women's estimated burden of alcohol use disorder varied substantially from state to state," says study co-author Dr. Rachel Sayko Adams, research associate professor of health law, policy and management at BUSPH.
"These differences highlight the importance of understanding local needs when shaping prevention efforts and designing treatment programs to be more accessible and responsive to women's needs."
Among nearly 14,000 alcohol treatment facilities for adults across the nation, only 58.5% offered women-specific programming. Twenty-three states and Puerto Rico had fewer than 10 facilities offering women-specific treatment per 10,000 women with AUD.
Most of the treatment facilities in states with a higher estimated prevalence of AUD among women had below-average availability of critical services such as trauma therapy, intimate partner violence support and transportation assistance. Less than half of all treatment facilities offer telehealth services—an accommodation that could be especially valuable for women who lack reliable transportation or struggle with stigma or other fears of seeking in-person treatment.
Only 4.6% of addiction treatment facilities provided child care in 2024.
"For many women, lack of child care is a persistent barrier to AUD treatment, as women are more likely to be the primary caregivers of their children," says study lead author Sage Feltus, research associate in the Department of Health Law, Policy & Management at BUSPH.
"Parenting women may find it difficult to obtain reliable, affordable and trustworthy child care in their communities while they participate in lifesaving AUD treatment, and most treatment centers do not provide child care options. Supporting women's recovery from AUD would mean providing solutions to the child care barrier and other barriers women face."
This insight into women-specific AUD treatment comes amid changing norms of how society views alcohol use among women—now widely accepted and normalized in daily life, despite copious research showing that even moderate amounts of drinking place women at greater risk of developing breast cancer, liver disease, suicidal ideation and reproductive health complications.
In a previous study, the researchers found that women without children by age 35 were at highest risk for binge drinking and AUD, but 35-year-old women with children also remained at an increased risk, perhaps influenced by a proliferation of messaging on social media and in popular culture that embraces drinking as a form of stress relief and enjoyment.
"Despite the well-established health risks of drinking, popular culture often presents alcohol as a way for women to celebrate or unwind," says Adams. "Women need clear information about alcohol-related health risks and access to treatment that is responsive to their needs."
The researchers outline several actions that states can take to expand women's access to tailored AUD treatment, particularly in regions with the greatest need.
In addition to incentivizing facilities to provide child care and telehealth services, they note that states can require health plans to cover alcohol treatment services and medications—perhaps a necessary mandate, as a previous analysis by the researchers found that fewer than half of Medicaid managed care plans provide all AUD medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
The team also recommends that primary care offices and mental health facilities screen and treat for AUD, as women with AUD are more likely to seek treatment for co-occurring mental health conditions at these health care facilities than at an addiction treatment facility.
More information
Sage R. Feltus et al., State Variation in the Availability of Women-Specific Alcohol Use Disorder Treatment, Substance Use & Addiction Journal (2026). DOI: 10.1177/29767342261479908
Key medical concepts
Alcohol use disorderTelehealth
Clinical categories
Women's healthPsychology & Mental healthPsychiatry Provided by Boston University Who's behind this story?
Sadie Harley
BSc Life Sciences & Ecology. Microbiology lab background with pharmaceutical news experience in oil, gas, and renewable industries. Full profile →
Alexander Pol
PhD nano-engineering from Delft University. Published researcher and journal reviewer. Brings scientific insight to content standards. Full profile →
Citation: Women face gaps in tailored alcohol treatment in states with higher disorder rates (2026, October 15) retrieved 15 October 2026 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-women-gaps-tailored-alcohol-treatment.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.