Over 30% of Americans say they have had alcohol consumption-related problems, a new study shows.

Among those with drinking problems, 17.8% say they have alcohol abuse problems and 12.5% say they are alcohol-dependent.

The study report appears in the July 2007 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

At some time in a person’s life, 30% of the population in the United States will develop alcohol dependence or alcohol abuse, according to lead researcher Bridget F Grant, chief of the Laboratory of Epidemiology and Biometry at the United States National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

The hallmarks of alcohol abuse are interpersonal problems, financial problems, and problems in daily living because of excessive drinking, Bridget Grant said.

Alcohol dependence is more serious than alcohol abuse: alcohol dependence is when a person has a compulsion to drink as well as impaired control.

Another major finding in the study is that there is a delay of 8 years to 10 years in treatment for alcohol problems after the problem starts. That 10 years can be devastating, Bridget Grant says.

Besides, there is a big treatment gap. Only 24% of people who had alcohol dependence are ever treated.

There are many new medications and behavioral treatments for alchohol dependence, according to Bridget Grant, but most people – including physicians – do not know understand the new state-of-the-art treatment. She believes that a national campaign is needed to educate physicians as well
as lay people that there are treatments available and that they are effective.

The study team analysed data on 43,093 adults in the United States. The data were collected from interviews done between 2001 and 2002.

In the interviews, people were asked about symptoms of alcohol abuse and dependence and diagnosed for depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, substance abuse disorder and other psychiatric problems.

In the year before the interview, 8.5% of adults reported having an alcohol use disorder, including 4.7% with alcohol abuse and 3.8% who were alcohol-dependent.

Moreover, of those who had alcohol dependence during their lifetime, only 24.1% were ever treated. Of those who were alcohol-dependent in the year
before the study, only 12.1% received treatment during that time.

For those with alcohol problems, the prevalence is higher among men and native Americans, the study team found. Asians, Hispanics and blacks have a lower prevalence than whites.

Alcohol abuse was found to be the greatest among those in the 30-60 age group.

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