I've read studies before regarding how men and women metabolize alcohol differently, and that a woman will feel the effects of a drink sooner than a man of the same weight. But now there's new research that takes that principle one step farther: women don't just feel the immediate/short-term effects sooner, but the long-term ones also. In a study of female and male alcoholics the women suffered negative health effects, specifically brain damage, much faster than the men did.

Of course alcoholism is widely understood as damaging and unhealthy, but it is also widely underdiagnosed. Understanding the risks and not shoving the issue to the background is an important part of prevention.