Clinicians often consider AUD among women as “telescoped,” with a later onset of alcohol use but shorter times from initiation to dependence and treatment (Keyes et al. 2008). However, in a recent analysis, Keyes and colleagues (2008) found little evidence for a telescoping effect among women in the general population. Further, sex differences in the prevalence of AUD seem to have decreased over time. As a result, younger women may require more targeted prevention and intervention efforts (Keyes et al. 2008, 2011). Current (Brown et al. 2012) and lifetime (Cavanaugh and Latimer 2010) alcohol abuse or dependence were prevalent among pregnant women (Vesga-Lopez et al. 2008), emphasizing the need for targeted interventions among this population (Mitchell et al. 2008). Women who had been pregnant in the past year also were 1.7 times more likely than non-pregnant women to seek treatment for alcohol abuse or dependence in the previous year (Vesga-Lopez et al. 2008).
