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Alcohol abuse can result in many different conditions and is not just limited to the liver, an expert has warned.

Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to complications such as high blood pressure and an increased risk of stroke or heart attack, according to Alcohol Concern.

On the subject of drinking when stressed, Frank Soodeen, press and parliamentary officer for Alcohol Concern, said: "There are two issues. The first is that alcohol is a psychoactive drug, and it’s particularly risky to rely on it to relieve stress because if one is then drinking particularly heavily, it can, in a sense, compound some of the problems that created stress in the first place."

He added that there are also many long-term effects of alcohol abuse and that it is the second biggest cause of high blood pressure next to obesity.

A recent survey by health charity Developing Patient Partnerships revealed that more than a third of men are self-medicating with alcohol.

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Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol can increase an individual’s risk of a stroke, according to a new study.

Tulane University researchers concluded that heavy drinking - more than 21 drinks per week – can induce hypertension (high blood pressure), which is a key risk factor for a stroke.

Focusing their study on a nationally representative sample of Chinese men, the team examined the relationship between alcohol consumption and the condition.

"The relationship between alcohol intake and the development of stroke has not been very clear from observational studies done in the past," noted Dr Lydia Bazzano, assistant professor of epidemiology at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

She continued: "We wanted to look at this relationship in a really large cohort, which gives us the best power to detect any association."

Alcohol consumption has also been linked to exaggerated insulin secretion, resulting in severe hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) – potentially life-threatening for people with diabetes.

Health campaigners maintain that education is necessary throughout the world to curb alcohol abuse and the plethora of complications it creates for people with existing medical conditions.

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The mystery behind one of the most well-known clinical problems faced by diabetes sufferers has been disclosed by scientists.

Researchers at leading Swedish medical university the Karolinska Institute concluded that drinking alcohol can lead to exaggerated insulin secretion, resulting in severe hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).

Described in the latest issue of Endocrinology, the mechanism explains how alcohol ingestion may harm the human brain by decreasing blood glucose concentration to inappropriately low levels.

Lead investigator Ake Sjoholm pointed out that the discovery may explain the hypoglycemic properties of alcohol in diabetic patients or in alcoholics with liver failure.

"Alcohol intake might provoke sustained hypoglycemia in type-two diabetes patients being treated with hypoglycemic sulfonylureas because many of these drugs have a long biological half-life," the researcher remarked.

"Furthermore, many alcoholics are malnourished and/or have liver cirrhosis and might therefore be unable to mount a gluconeogenetic response to hypoglycemia," he added.

Hypoglycemia induced by alcohol ingestion is a familiar clinical problem for people with diabetes.

Meanwhile, research into the obesity associated with diabetes has found that a hormone released in response to food may be capable of promoting weight loss and improving insulin resistance.

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Researchers in the US believe they have made significant discoveries in identifying why people become addicted to alcohol.

Scientists from the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Centre undertook a study comparing brain activity of non-addicts and sober alcoholics when making financial decisions.

The results showed that the latter group displayed significantly more "impulsive" neural behaviour.

Findings from the trials revealed that a specific gene mutation boosted brain activity in these regions when impulsive choices were made by people.

As a result, scientists claim that raising dopamine levels may be an effective treatment for addiction.

Lead researcher Dr Charlotte Boettiger said: "Our data suggest there may be a cognitive difference in people with addictions."

"Their brains may not fully process the long-term consequences of their choices. They may compute information less efficiently," she added.

The latest government figures show that an estimated 30 per cent of men and 15 per cent of women drink more than the recommended safe levels.

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Lower-cost obesity insurance could be an option for people who get between eight and nine hours sleep a night.

Scientists have found that such individuals are most likely to achieve an optimal weight.

Research published in today’s Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine also revealed that women with clinical medical problems are more likely to be obese if they have either very long or short sleep times.

The study, conducted by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, singled out smoking, alcohol consumption, hypertension, diabetes and young age as other factors featuring in the obesity lottery.

"Whether or not manipulating sleep time in adults will prevent additional weight gain or facilitate weight loss is unclear," remarked Kenneth Nugent of Texas Tech University.

He added: "This question will require therapeutic trials in which sleep hygiene is addressed during weight loss studies."

Although the study did not clarify the relationship between sleep and weight in men, it put forward obstructive sleep apnea as one potential reason for the link.

The condition refers to overweight people struggling to breathe because fat in their throats blocks their airways, leading scientists to conclude that their obesity affects sleep patterns, rather than vice versa.

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Women with alcohol problems risk passing them on to their unborn children if they drink while pregnant, it has been claimed.

Scientists at the State University of New York attributed an increased risk of alcohol abuse to the development of senses attracted to the taste and smell of the substance.

During one study, they found that infantile rats exposed to alcohol (ethanol) in the womb drank significantly more of it in youth but not in adulthood.

Separate research found the same association with smell; infantile rats whose mothers were exposed to ethanol odour sniffed it significantly more than control rats.

"From a clinical perspective, an enhanced preference for ethanol odour may be an important contributor to the risk for an enhanced postnatal avidity for the drug," the scientists concluded, adding that children should be kept away from alcohol, particularly if they were exposed to it in the womb.

Earlier this year the Department of Health advised that women avoid alcohol completely during pregnancy, marking a change to previous guidelines which maintained one or two alcoholic drinks a week would not risk a baby’s health.

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Individuals concerned about their life insurance prospects because of alcohol or drug problems may be interested in the latest investigation into the UK’s anti-drinking advertisement campaigns.

According to researchers from a range of universities across the country, such campaigns may be "misconceived" as a result of playing on drinking tales used by young people to define their social identity.

"Extreme inebriation is often seen as a source of personal esteem and social affirmation amongst young people," confirmed Professor Christine Griffin from the University of Bath, who led the three-year study.

She pointed out that although many adverts illustrate that being very drunk with friends carries a penalty of social disapproval, for many youngsters the opposite is true.

"Not only does being in a friendship group legitimise being very drunk - being the subject of an extreme drinking story can raise esteem within the group," added the professor.

Her team’s research, which was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, involved in-depth interviews with 94 young people in three UK regions over three years.

They concluded that a "radical re-thinking" of national alcohol policy is required, taking account of the social character of alcohol consumption and its identity implications for young people.

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Obesity has become a "growing risk factor" for pregnant women, it has emerged.

A new report entitled the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH) revealed that out of 295 women who died of pregnancy-related conditions in the UK between 2003 and 2005, half were obese and 15 per cent were classed as extremely so.

"Obesity is fast emerging as the public health issue of our generation and its impact on maternity must be taken seriously," confirmed Professor Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

Gwyneth Lewis, CEMACH director, added: "Healthy mothers have healthier pregnancies and healthier babies.

"The fact that more than half of the women who died were obese or overweight, and that preventable causes of cardiac disease were the leading cause of death, shows that strong public health messages are needed both before and during pregnancy."

Adding to national concerns about an impending obesity epidemic, the CEMACH follows a recent review of public health which revealed that England has the highest levels of obesity in Europe.

The Department of Health’s report indicated that diabetes and alcohol-related hospital admissions and deaths from chronic liver disease are also on the up.

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In a move welcomed by people with insurance difficulties because of alcohol-related problems, the government has been urged to do more to prevent the rise in alcohol-related diseases.

Bringing together 24 organisations whose mission is to reduce the damage caused to health by alcohol misuse, the Alcohol Health Alliance UK aims to draw attention to rising levels of alcohol-related health harm.

Armed with evidence-based solutions to reduce such harm, the alliance put forward its ultimate goal of influencing decision makers to take positive action to address the damage caused by alcohol misuse.

"Alcohol misuse not only affects people’s physical heath," commented Dr Mike Farrell, chair of the addictions faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists which is one of the 24 organisations in an alliance featuring medical bodies, patient representatives and alcohol health campaigners.

"There is a strong link between heavy drinking and mental health problems, in particular depression and self-harm," continued Dr Farrell.

Alcoholic liver cirrhosis has increased by 95 per cent in the UK since 2000, while overall alcohol-related deaths have increased by 18 per cent from the period between 2002 and 2005.

According to the Alcohol Health Alliance UK, more people die from alcohol-related causes than from breast cancer, cervical cancer and MRSA combined.

The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people with alcohol-related conditions and mental health problems

Excessive consumption of alcohol can not only negatively affect your life, it can make it difficult or expensive to get insurance.

Kevin Carr, head of protection strategy at LifeSearch, told the Health Insurance magazine that several insurers are beginning to take a stricter approach to alcohol consumption.

One major insurer is reported to be declining insurance cover for those drinking over 40 units of alcohol every week.

Other insurers may load premiums by between 50 and 100 per cent.

Norwich Union has confirmed it may load the premiums of 40-years-old plus men who drink over 50 units of alcohol per week and 40-plus females who drink over 35 units each week.

Mr Carr noted that "alcohol consumption is very difficult to measure - it is not like smoking where you either do or you don’t".

"If people put down an honest consumption of, say, 30 units a week and then get quoted higher premiums, it could encourage people to lie about their alcohol intake," he added.

The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with alcohol addiction.