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Binge Drinking Common Among Adults, CDC Finds
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Medpagetoday.com REPORTS HERE that "about one in every six U.S. adults binges on alcohol, according to the CDC, and among those who do, the binges occur roughly once a week on average and include an average of eight drinks each time, agency researchers reported…."

"And the problem is even larger than these self-reported data indicate, Brewer continued. Previous studies have shown that, based on alcohol sales, asking people to self-report drinking behavior captures less than one-third of presumed consumption."

"Binge drinking -- defined as at least four drinks in one sitting for women and five drinks for men -- carries substantial risks and high costs. It accounts for more than half of the estimated 80,000 annual deaths and three-quarters of the $223.5 billion in economic costs tied to excessive alcohol use."

"In addition, it is associated with a greater risk of a multitude of problems, including car crashes, violence, suicide, hypertension, acute MI, sexually transmitted diseases, unintended pregnancy, fetal alcohol syndrome, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)."

"According to the authors, the Community Preventive Services Task Force in 2005 recommended several strategies to reduce the burden of binge drinking, which included the following:

  • Limit the density of stores that sell alcohol
  • Hold those who sell alcohol responsible for harms related to selling to minors and to intoxicated patrons
  • Maintain limits on when alcohol can be sold
  • Increase the price of alcohol
  • Avoid further privatization of alcohol sales in states with government-operated or contracted liquor stores"
"The CDC researchers examined 2010 data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. The analysis included responses from 457,677 adults in 48 states (minus South Dakota and Tennessee) and the District of Columbia who were surveyed by landline or cell phone. Overall, 17.1% said they binge drank within the past 30 days. The rate was twice as high in men as in women (23.2% versus 11.4%)."

"The rate of binge drinking was highest among 18-to-24-year-olds (28.2%), as was the intensity (9.3 drinks per occasion). Both figures decreased with age."

"The frequency of binge drinking, however, was highest among respondents 65 and older (5.5 episodes per month)."

"Non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics were most likely to binge drink (18% and 17.9%, respectively), and non-Hispanics from other racial and ethnic groups and Hispanics had the highest intensity (8.7 and 8.4 drinks per episode, respectively)."

"The prevalence of binge drinking increased with household income, reaching 20.2% among those earning $75,000 or more. Households with the lowest incomes (less than $25,000) had the highest frequency (5.0 episodes per month) and intensity (8.5 drinks per episode)."

"The higher prevalence of binge drinking among males, whites, young adults, and persons with higher household incomes has been reported previously, and probably reflects differences in state and local laws that affect the price, availability, and marketing of alcoholic beverages, as well as other cultural and religious factors," the authors explained."

 
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