Study: 90% of Excessive Drinkers Are Not Alcoholics

According to a recent study, 90% of excessive drinkers did not meet the alcohol dependence criteria.

“Excessive alcohol consumption is responsible for 88,000 deaths annually and cost the United States $223.5 billion in 2006. It is often assumed that most excessive drinkers are alcohol dependent. However, few studies have examined the prevalence of alcohol dependence among excessive drinkers,” said the authors of the study.
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“The objective of this study was to update prior estimates of the prevalence of alcohol dependence among US adult drinkers,” they said.

For the study, researchers evaluated 138,100 adults who participated in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2009 to 2011.

Researchers found that among men ages 18 to 24 years, binge drinking, excessive drinking, and alcohol dependence were most common.

While binge drinking was most common among men with $75,000 or more (annual family incomes), alcohol dependence was most common in men with annual family incomes less than $25, 000.

The study showed that excessive drinkers yielded 10.2% alcohol dependence, binge drinkers yielded 10.5%, and non-binge drinkers showed 1.3% alcohol dependence.

The complete study is published in the November issue of Preventing Chronic Disease.

-Michelle Canales

Reference:

Esser MB, Hedden SL, Kanny D, et al. Prevalence of alcohol dependence among US adult drinkers, 2009-2011. Prev Chronic Dis. 2014 November [epub ahead of print] doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd11.140329.