Nearly One Third of Americans Suffer Alcohol Problems In Their Lifetime
A new study* in this month’s issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry estimates that about 30 per cent of Americans report having an alcohol disorder at some time in their lives. Most of the problems (17.8 per cent) are due to alcohol abuse and the rest of the problems are due to alcohol dependence (12.5 per cent). The research was conducted by researchers from Columbia University in New York, New York State Psychiatric Institute, and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Both alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence can have serious negative consequences such as car crashes or violence - and of course, workplace accidents or poor performance.
The report found that 8.5% of adults had an alcohol use disorder in the 12 months prior to the survey and that alcohol dependence was statistically more common among men, whiles, Native Americans, younger unmarried adults, and lower income groups.
The report shows that alcohol-related problems are far more common than drug-related problems.
The DaytaTree Team
*”Prevalence, Correlates, Disability, and Comorbidity of DSM-IV Alcohol Abuse and Dependence in the United States: Results From the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.” by Deborah S. Hasin, Frederick S. Stinson, Elizabeth Ogburn, and Bridget F. Grant.
Archives of General Psychiatry, Volume 64 Number 7, July 2007