Trends in Adult Alcohol Use and Binge Drinking in the Early 21st‐Century United States

A Meta‐Analysis of 6 National Survey Series

Bibliographic Data

ID23356879
AuthorsRichard A Grucza (0000-0002-8191-6875, Department of Psychiatry Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis Missouri, corresponding author), Kenneth J Sher (0000-0002-4420-8546, Department of Psychological Sciences University of Missouri Columbia Missouri), William C Kerr (0000-0001-6612-9200, Alcohol Research Group Public Health Institute Emeryville California), Melissa J Krauss (0000-0002-8726-7394, Department of Psychiatry Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis Missouri), Camillia K Lui (0000-0001-9349-4772, Alcohol Research Group Public Health Institute Emeryville California), Yoanna E McDowell (0000-0003-3766-9165, Department of Psychological Sciences University of Missouri Columbia Missouri), Sarah M Hartz (0000-0002-5429-3799, Department of Psychiatry Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis Missouri), Gurpal Virdi (Department of Psychiatry Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis Missouri), Laura J Bierut (0000-0002-9952-4810, Department of Psychiatry Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis Missouri)
Year2018
Volume42
Issue10
Pages1939-1950
Publication date2018-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAlcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0145-6008 • E-ISSN: 1530-0277
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/acer.13859
PMID30080258
OpenAlexW2887367196
LanguageEN
Citations received64
References cited23

BACKGROUND: Recent trends in alcoholic liver disease, alcohol-related emergency room admissions, and alcohol use disorder prevalence as measured by general-population surveys have raised concerns about rising alcohol-related morbidity and mortality in the United States. In contrast, upward trends in per capita alcohol consumption have been comparatively modest. METHODS: To resolve these discordant observations, we sought to examine trends in the prevalence of alcohol use and binge drinking from 6 regularly or periodically administered national surveys using a meta-analytic approach. Annual or periodic prevalence estimates for past-12-month or past-30-day alcohol use and binge drinking were estimated for available time points between the years 2000 and 2016. Estimates were combined in a random-effects regression model in which prevalence was modeled as a log-linear function of time to obtain meta-analytic trend estimates for the full population and by sex, race, age, and educational attainment. RESULTS: Meta-analysis-derived estimates of average annual percentage increase in the prevalence of alcohol use and binge drinking were 0.30% per year (95% CI: 0.22%, 0.38%) and 0.72% per year (95% CI: 0.46%, 0.98%), respectively. There was substantial between-survey heterogeneity among trend estimates, although there was notable consistency in the degree to which trends have impacted various demographic groups. For example, most surveys found that the changes in prevalence for alcohol use and binge drinking were large and positive for ages 50 to 64 and 65 and up, and smaller, negative, or nonsignificant for ages 18 to 29. CONCLUSIONS: Significant increases in the prevalence of alcohol use and of binge drinking over the past 10 to 15 years were observed, but not for all demographic groups. However, the increase in binge drinking among middle-aged and older adults is substantial and may be driving increasing rates of alcohol-related morbidity and mortality.

Alcohol · Alcohol use disorder · Binge drinking · Environmental health · Injury prevention · Per capita · Poison control · Population · Alcohol Consumption and Health Effects · Demography · Homelessness and Social Issues · Medicine · Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes