New population data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)depicts the societal burden and magnitude of heavy alcohol use in the United States. In 2018, two-thirds of adults aged 18 and older consumed alcohol in the past year.
Among them, 5.1% engaged in heavy alcohol use, with non-Hispanic white adults (6.4%) making up the biggest sub-group of heavy alcohol users…

Author

Peter Boersma, Maria A. Villarroel and Anjel Vahratian

Citation

Boersma P, Villarroel MA, Vahratian A. Heavy drinking among U.S. adults, 2018. NCHS Data Brief, no 374. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2020.

Source
National Center for Health Statistics
Release date
31/08/2020

United States National Health Interview Survey Data on Heavy Alcohol Use

Research article

Key results on heavy alcohol use found through NHIS

National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is a nationally representative household survey of the civilian noninstitutionalized U.S. population. It is conducted continuously throughout the year by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). NHIS has been conducted since 1957 and this article covers the latest data from the 2018 survey. Interviews are conducted in respondents’ homes, but follow-ups to complete interviews may be conducted over the telephone. More than 35,000 U.S. households and 87,000 people participate in the survey. More information on NHIS can be found on their website.

1 in 20
Americans are heavy alcohol users
  • In 2018, two-thirds (66.3%) of adults aged 18 and over consumed alcohol in the past year.
  • Among adults aged 18 and over, 5.1% engaged in heavy alcohol use (consumption of an average of more than 14 units of alcohol per week for men or more than 7 units of alcohol per week for women in the past year).
  • Non-Hispanic white adults (6.4%) were more likely than non-Hispanic black (2.9%), Hispanic (2.6%), and non-Hispanic Asian (2.0%) adults to engage in heavy alcohol use.
  • Adults who regularly felt worried, nervous, or anxious, or who regularly felt depressed, were more likely than adults without these feelings to engage in heavy alcohol use in the past year.
  • Adults who saw a doctor in the past year were as likely as adults who did not see a doctor to engage in heavy alcohol use.

Alcohol use in depth

In 2018,

  • 5.1% of adults engaged in heavy alcohol use in the past year,
  • 15.5% engaged in moderate alcohol use, 45.7% engaged in light alcohol use, and
  • 33.7% did not consume alcohol.

The percentage of adults who engaged in heavy alcohol use in the past year varied by age, Hispanic origin, and race.

  • Men (5.0%) were as likely as women (5.2%) to engage in heavy alcohol use in the past year.
  • The percentage of adults who engaged in heavy alcohol use was lowest among adults aged 65 and over (4.1%).
  • Non-Hispanic white adults (6.4%) were more likely than non-Hispanic black (2.9%), Hispanic (2.6%), and non-Hispanic Asian (2.0%) adults to engage in heavy alcohol use.

The percentage of adults who engaged in heavy alcohol use in the past year varied by select mental health indicators. Adults who regularly felt worried, nervous, or anxious (7.0%) and adults who regularly felt depressed (7.6%) were more likely than adults without these feelings to engage in heavy alcohol use in the past year.

The percentage of adults who engaged in heavy alcohol use in the past year varied little across select measures of health care access and utilization.

  • The percentage of adults who engaged in heavy alcohol use was lower, but not significantly different from, those who were insured (5.0%) or saw a doctor in the past year (5.0%), compared with those who were uninsured or did not see a doctor in the past year (5.8% and 5.6%, respectively) (Figure 4).
  • Adults without a usual place of care (6.5%) were more likely than adults with a usual place of care (4.8%) to engage in heavy alcohol use.

Source Website: CDC