Prevalence of Drinking

Overview
Visualizations (1)
Data

Description:

The data represent adults who reported who have had at least one drink of alcohol within the past 30 days, and whether they are considered heavy or binge drinkers.

Heavy drinking
For men, heavy drinking is typically defined as consuming an average of more than 2 drinks per day. For women, heavy drinking is typically defined as consuming an average of more than 1 drink per day.

Binge drinking
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, binge drinking is defined as a pattern of alcohol consumption that brings the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level to 0.08% or above. This pattern of drinking usually corresponds to 5 or more drinks on a single occasion for men or 4 or more drinks on a single occasion for women, generally within about 2 hours. The prevalence of binge drinking is higher among young adult men than among other groups

Alcohol affects every organ in the body. It is a central nervous system depressant that is rapidly absorbed from the stomach and small intestine into the bloodstream. Alcohol is metabolized in the liver by enzymes; however, the liver can only metabolize a small amount of alcohol at a time, leaving the excess alcohol to circulate throughout the body. The intensity of the effect of alcohol on the body is directly related to the amount consumed.

Approximately 85,000 deaths each year in the United States are attributed to alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse is strongly associated with injuries, violence, fetal alcohol syndrome, chronic liver disease, and risk of other acute and chronic health effects.

Data Source:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey Data.
http://www.cdc.gov/brfss/index.htm

Data Quality Comments:

Data based on the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, an ongoing, state-based, random-digit-dialed telephone survey of non-institutionalized civilian adults aged 18 years and older. As with all self-reported sample surveys, BRFSS data might be subject to systematic error resulting from noncoverage (e.g., lower telephone coverage among populations of low socioeconomic status), nonresponse (e.g., refusal to participate in the survey or to answer specific questions), or measurement (e.g., social desirability or recall bias). More information about the BRFSS is available at: http://www.cdc.gov/brfss/index.htm.

Percentages are weighted to reflect population characteristics.

The indicator does not convey the frequency of binge drinking or the specific amount of alcohol consumed.