At least 38 million Americans binge drink, downing four to five alcoholic beverages at a time but most doctors aren't helping. A new survey data reveals that majority of U.S. adults have never discussed alcohol use with their healthcare professional and officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say it's time for this to change.
CDC Director Thomas Frieden said that drinking alcohol has a lot more risks than many realize but many doctors fail to discuss this issue with their patients. A 2011 survey of 166,753 adults from 44 states and the District of Columbia showed that only one in six adults discuss drinking with their healthcare professional. The rate is a bit higher among those who admitted to binge drinking but the result is just as disappointing, one in four. Likewise, only 17 percent of women who were pregnant at the time of the survey said they have been asked about drinking even though drinking during pregnancy is discouraged.
"Alcohol causes more health and social problems than most people recognize, from problems with your liver to infections to risk of injury to a whole bunch of social problems, like problems at work," Frieden told NBC News. "A small conversation can make a big difference and help people reduce their alcohol use, but those conversations aren't happening."
Because of the risks, the CDC wants healthcare professionals to help. Healthcare professionals, social workers and other counselors can conduct a brief screening and counseling of patients to effectively intervene and potentially reduce a patient's drinking habits, suggested Frieden during a telephone press conference. "In the same way we screen patients for high cholesterol and high blood pressure, we should be screening for excess alcohol use and responding effectively," he said.
According to Charles O'Brien, the Kenneth Appel Professor in the department of Psychiatry at the Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia, many doctors are embarrassed to discuss alcohol with their patients because they may be heavy drinkers themselves. "Doctors tend to abuse alcohol, too, so they're embarrassed to talk about it with patients when they realize their own use might be just as much as the patient they're talking to," he said.
Still, O'Brien said it's an important discussion to have. He also said that one does not have to give up drinking completely, "just cutting back can make a big difference."
