alcohol use and alcohol use disorders in the united states

247 Pages·2009·1.36 MB·English

U.S. Alcohol Epidemiologic
Data Reference Manual
Volume 8, Number 1

ALCOHOL USE AND ALCOHOL USE
DISORDERS IN THE UNITED STATES:
MAIN FINDINGS FROM THE 2001–2002
NATIONAL EPIDEMIOLOGIC SURVEY
ON ALCOHOL AND RELATED CONDITIONS (NESARC)

January 2006

National Institutes of Health

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
5635 Fishers Lane, MSC 9304
Bethesda, MD 20892-9304
Acknowledgments
This publication was developed by CSR, Incorporated, under Contract No. N01AA32007
for the operation of the Alcohol Epidemiologic Data System (AEDS) for the Division of
Epidemiology and Prevention Research (DEPR) of the National Institute on Alcohol
Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Principal authors
of this manual are Chiung M. Chen, M.A., Hsiao-ye Yi, Ph.D., and Daniel E. Falk, Ph.D.
of CSR; and Frederick S. Stinson, Ph.D., Deborah A. Dawson, Ph.D., and Bridget F.
Grant, Ph.D., Ph.D., of the Laboratory of Epidemiology and Biometry of NIAAA.
Michael E. Hilton, Ph.D., and Rosalind A. Breslow, Ph.D., served as NIAAA’s Project
Officer and co-Project Officer, respectively, on the above-referenced contract and
oversaw the preparation of this manual.

All material appearing in this manual is
in the public domain and may be
reproduced or copied without the
permission of NIAAA. Citation of the
source is appreciated.

NIH Publication No. 05-5737
Printed January 2006
Table of Contents
List of Tables..................................................................................................................................v
List of Exhibits.............................................................................................................................viii
Foreword........................................................................................................................................ix
1. Introduction.................................................................................................................................1
2. Data Source.................................................................................................................................2
3. Data Coverage.............................................................................................................................3
3.1 NESARC Alcohol Items.......................................................................................................3
3.1.1 Drinking Status..............................................................................................................3
3.1.2 Drinking Level...............................................................................................................3
3.1.3 Exceeding Daily and Weekly Low-Risk Drinking Limits.............................................5
3.1.4 Overall Beverage Preference.........................................................................................6
3.1.5 Drinking Onset...............................................................................................................6
3.1.6 Hazardous Drinking.......................................................................................................6
3.1.7 DSM-IV Alcohol Use Disorders....................................................................................6
3.1.8 Family History of Alcoholism.......................................................................................9
3.1.9 Alcohol Treatment.........................................................................................................9
3.2 Other NESARC Items.........................................................................................................12
3.2.1 Basic Demographic and Background Information.......................................................12
3.2.2 Cigarette Smoking Status.............................................................................................12
3.2.3 Medical Conditions......................................................................................................12
3.2.4 DSM-IV Drug and Nicotine Use Disorders.................................................................15
3.2.5 DSM-IV Mood and Anxiety Disorders........................................................................17
3.2.6 DSM-IV Personality and Conduct Disorders..............................................................18
3.2.7 DSM-IV Pathological Gambling.................................................................................18
4. Data Tables...............................................................................................................................20
4.1 Percent Distribution Tables................................................................................................20
4.2 Health Condition Rates Tables...........................................................................................22
4.3 Psychiatric Disorder Rates Tables......................................................................................23
4.4 Population Tables...............................................................................................................24
5. References.................................................................................................................................26

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List of Tables

1- Percent distribution of [variable], by sex and age group, according to selected respondent
characteristics, United States, 2001–2002
Variables:
1. Drinking status in the past year........................................................................................29
2a. Average drinking level in the past year among current drinkers.....................................37
2b. Average drinking level in the past year among current drinkers combined with
former drinkers and lifetime abstainers...........................................................................47
3. Having exceeded daily and weekly low-risk drinking limits in the past year
among current drinkers....................................................................................................58
4. DSM-IV alcohol use disorders in the past year among current drinkers.........................67
5. Frequency of drinking 5 or more drinks for men or 4 or more drinks for women
in a single day in the past year among current drinkers...................................................79
6. Frequency of drinking enough to feel drunk in the past year among current
drinkers............................................................................................................................89
7. Frequency of driving after drinking 3 or more drinks in the past year among
current drinkers................................................................................................................99
8. Frequency of getting into potentially harmful situations after drinking in the past
year among current drinkers..........................................................................................109
9. Age of starting to drink among current drinkers............................................................117
10. Alcoholic beverage preference in the past year among current drinkers.......................128
11. Family history of alcoholism among current drinkers...................................................142
12. Having alcoholic parents among current drinkers.........................................................153
13. Having married/lived as if married with an alcoholic, among current drinkers............161
14. Having received any alcohol treatment in the past year among current drinkers..........169
15. Having received any alcohol treatment in lifetime among current drinkers..................177

2- Rate per 1,000 population of selected past-year health conditions, by sex and age group,
according to [variable], United States, 2001–2002
Variables:
1. Drinking status in the past year......................................................................................185
2. Average drinking level in the past year among current drinkers...................................187
3. Having exceeded daily and weekly low-risk drinking limits in the past year
among current drinkers..................................................................................................188
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4. DSM-IV alcohol use disorders in the past year among current drinkers.......................189
5. Frequency of drinking 5 or more drinks for men or 4 or more drinks for women
in a single day in the past year among current drinkers.................................................191
6. Frequency of drinking enough to feel drunk in the past year among current
drinkers..........................................................................................................................192
7. Frequency of driving after drinking 3 or more drinks in the past year among current
drinkers..........................................................................................................................193
8. Frequency of getting into potentially harmful situations after drinking in the past
year among current drinkers..........................................................................................194
9. Age of starting to drink among current drinkers............................................................195
10. Alcoholic beverage preference in the past year among current drinkers.......................197
11. Family history of alcoholism among current drinkers...................................................199
12. Having alcoholic parents among current drinkers.........................................................201
13. Having married/lived as if married with an alcoholic, among current drinkers............202
14. Having received any alcohol treatment in the past year among current drinkers..........203
15. Having received any alcohol treatment in lifetime among current drinkers..................204

3- Rate per 1,000 population of selected DSM-IV psychiatric disorders, by sex and age group,
according to [variable], United States, 2001–2002
Variables:
1. Drinking status in the past year......................................................................................205
2. Average drinking level in the past year among current drinkers...................................207
3. Having exceeded daily and weekly low-risk drinking limits in the past year among
current drinkers..............................................................................................................209
4. DSM-IV alcohol use disorders in the past year among current drinkers.......................211
5. Frequency of drinking 5 or more drinks for men or 4 or more drinks for women
in a single day in the past year among current drinkers.................................................213
6. Frequency of drinking enough to feel drunk in the past year among current
drinkers..........................................................................................................................215
7. Frequency of driving after drinking 3 or more drinks in the past year among current
drinkers..........................................................................................................................217
8. Frequency of getting into potentially harmful situation after drinking in the past
year among current drinkers..........................................................................................219
9. Age of starting to drink among current drinkers............................................................220
10. Alcoholic beverage preference in the past year among current drinkers.......................222
11. Family history of alcoholism among current drinkers...................................................225
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12. Having alcoholic parents among current drinkers.........................................................227
13. Having married/lived as if married with an alcoholic, among current drinkers............228
14. Having received any alcohol treatment in the past year among current drinkers..........229
15. Having received any alcohol treatment in lifetime among current drinkers..................230

4-1. Population (in 1,000s) ages 18 years and older, by sex and age group, according to
selected respondent characteristics, United States, 2001–2002...........................................231

4-2. Population (in 1,000s) of current drinkers ages 18 years and older, by sex and age
group, according to selected respondent characteristics, United States, 2001–2002...........234

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List of Exhibits

National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions
1. (Section 2A): Selected Questions on Alcohol Consumption.....................................................7
(Section 2B): Selected Questions on Alcohol Experiences.......................................................7
2. (Section 2B): DSM-IV Alcohol Abuse and Dependence Diagnostic Criteria and
Associated Questionnaire Items.................................................................................................8
3. (Section 2D): Selected Questions on Family History of Alcoholism......................................10
4. (Section 2C): Selected Questions on Treatment Utilization....................................................11
5. (Section 1): Questionnaire Items for Selected Demographic and Background Information...13
6. (Section 3A): Selected Questions on Tobacco Use.................................................................14
7. (Section 13): Selected Questions on Medical Conditions........................................................14
8. (Section 3C): DSM-IV Drug Abuse and Dependence Diagnostic Criteria and
Associated Questionnaire Items...............................................................................................16
9. (Sections 4–11): Diagnosis of DSM-IV Mood, Anxiety, Personality,
and Conduct Disorders.............................................................................................................19

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Foreword

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), a part of the
National Institutes of Health, is the primary Federal agency that conducts and supports
epidemiologic, biomedical and behavioral research related to the causes, consequences,
treatment, and prevention of alcohol-related problems.

The Alcohol Epidemiologic Data Reference Manuals (AEDRMs) produced by the
Alcohol Epidemiologic Data System (AEDS) of NIAAA provide detailed epidemiologic
data useful to researchers, health care planners, and others interested in alcohol abuse,
associated illnesses and psychiatric disorders, and alcohol-related mortality.

This manual is the first publication in Volume 8 of the AEDRM series, presenting an
extensive compilation of data from the 2001–2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on
Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), a household survey designed, conducted
and sponsored by NIAAA. The NESARC is the largest and most comprehensive survey
conducted on alcohol use, alcohol use disorders and their physical and psychiatric
disabilities. Forthcoming publications of Volume 8 will focus on alcohol-related data
from future waves of the NESARC.

Other volumes of the AEDRM series include information on per capita alcohol
consumption, liver cirrhosis mortality, county alcohol-problem indicators, hospital
discharges with alcohol-related conditions, and State trends in drinking behaviors and
alcohol-related mortality. It is hoped that these documents will serve as a useful
reference for both researchers and others interested in the alcoholism field.

Ting-Kai Li, M.D.
Director
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
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