In a new study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, researchers have discovered that one out of every three adults in the United States has had an alcohol use disorder at some point in their lives, but only about 20 percent seek treatment.
"These findings underscore that alcohol problems are deeply entrenched and significantly under-treated in our society," said George F. Koob, Ph.D., director for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The NIAAA is a part of the National Institutes of Health.
AUD is a medical diagnosis involving problem drinking that results in mild to severe harm or distress. The researchers, led by Bridget F. Grant, Ph.D., interviewed more than 36,000 American adults face-to-face as part of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions III from 2012 to 2013.
For the survey, researchers examined alcohol problems through diagnostic criteria provided by the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders released by the American Psychiatric Association. For a direct comparison, criteria set forth by the earlier edition of the manual also were used. There were overlaps in the criteria between the two editions but some important differences were also present, as alcohol dependence and alcohol abuse was integrated to define AUD in DSM-5.
According to results, 13.9 percent of American adults met the DSM-5 criteria for AUD in the previous year and 29.1 percent had AUD at some time in their life. In terms of DSM-IV criteria, 12.7 percent had AUD the previous year while 43.6 percent have been diagnosed with the condition at some point in their life.
The researchers also saw that men were likelier to develop AUD than women, as well as that age has an inverse relationship to diagnosis from the previous year. In adults 18 to 29 years old, over 7 percent lived with AUD for the previous year. This suggests that better intervention and prevention efforts will have to be employed in keeping the condition at bay.
"Significant disability was associated with 12-month and lifetime AUD and increased with the severity of AUD," they noted. "Only 19.8 percent of respondents with lifetime AUD were ever treated."
At the same time, they noted it is also important that the public is educated about existing efforts and what AUD is to begin with. Disseminating information about available treatment options should also help. Removing the stigma on AUD is a goal as well as they hope this will inspire people to seek the help they need.
Deborah Hasin, Ph.D., Boji Huang, M.D. Ph.D., Sharon Smith, Ph.D., June Ruan, M.A., Roger Pickering, M.S., Haitao Zhang, Ph.D., Jeesun Jung, Ph.D., Patricia Chou, Ph.D., Tulshi Saha, Ph.D. and Rise Goldstein,Ph.D., M.P.H. also contributed to the study.
Photo: Simon Cocks | Flickr
