Binge Drinking May Be Biggest Alcohol Threat: Survey

New Mexico study suggests it's a more serious problem than alcoholism.

By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter
Thursday, January 25, 2007; 12:00 AM

Copyright © 2007 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

THURSDAY, Jan. 25 (HealthDay News) -- A statewide New Mexico survey suggests that most Americans who drink too much may not, in fact, be full-blown alcoholics but rather binge drinkers.

While the poll revealed that 16.5 percent of that state's residents are excessive drinkers, only 1.8 percent of the men and women interviewed met the official definition for alcohol dependence.

In turn, most of these excessive drinkers were found to be engaged in "binge drinking" -- defined as imbibing five or more drinks at one sitting.

"Short-term episodic drinking -- not alcoholism -- is the predominant alcohol-related problem," said study co-author Jim Roeber, an alcohol epidemiologist with the New Mexico Department of Health in Santa Fe.

Reporting in the February issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, the authors referenced 2001 figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) outlining the tragic impact of serious alcohol abuse.

In that year, an estimated 75,000 Americans lost their lives due to excessive alcohol use, the researchers said.

According to the CDC, men who consume an average of more than two drinks per day are considered "heavy drinkers." For women, that line is drawn at more than one drink per day.

Both the study authors and the CDC pointed out that excessive alcohol use is associated with the development of many serious health problems, including liver cirrhosis, pancreatitis, various cancers, high blood pressure, as well as elevating risk for depression and suicide.

Alcohol abuse also promotes a variety of dangerous behaviors, such as driving or operating machinery while impaired.

To gauge the nature of the problem in New Mexico, Roeber and his colleagues analyzed a 2002 telephone survey conducted by the New Mexico Department of Health with CDC assistance.

Focusing on drinking behavior in the month prior to the interview, the researchers asked almost 4,800 state residents over the age of 18 to recall how often they had engaged in binge drinking, heavy drinking, and/or alcohol-impaired driving. Alcohol dependence was also assessed.