The scientists also found that women can become addicted to alcohol more quickly than men and suffer brain damage sooner from drinking.

In the light of reports of increased problem drinking among British women, the charity Alcohol Concern said that the findings were especially alarming.

Germany scientists carried out scans on the brains of 158 volunteers, including 76 alcoholic men and women and 82 healthy
people.

The alcoholic participants were recruited from a six-week in- patient treatment programme.

The study results supported previous evidence of gender-related harmful effects of alcohol, such as mental impairment, heart and skeletal muscle damage and liver disease.

All are recognised as occurring earlier in women than in men even when they are significantly less exposed to alcohol, says Karl Mann, of the University of Heidelberg.

The findings appear in the May issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Chief executive of Alcohol Concern, Srabani Sen says it was already known that women metabolise alcohol differently from men and absorb it into their bodies more quickly, and in view of the fact that women are drinking more, the research is quite worrying.