Tell Me More About Alcohol Dependence.
5. How common is Alcohol Dependence?
7.4% of the North American adult population suffer Abuse Alcohol or Alcohol Dependence. More than half the adults in North America have a close family member who has or has had Alcohol Dependence. Three times as many men have alcohol problems than women. Alcohol problems are highest among young adults aged 18-29 and lowest among adults aged 65 and older. The estimated economic cost of Alcohol Abuse was $184.6 billion for 1998 alone, or roughly $638 for every man, woman, and child living in the United States that year (Harwood et al. 2000).
Reference:
Dawson, D.A., and Grant, B.F. Family history of alcoholism and gender: Their combined effects on DSM-IV alcohol dependence and major depression. J Stud Alcohol 59(1):97–106, 1998.
Grant, B.F. Harford, T.C. Dawson, D.A. Chou, P. DuFour, M. and Pickering, R. Prevalence of DSM-IV alcohol abuse and dependence: United States, 1992. Epidemiologic Bulletin No. 35. Alcohol Health Res World 18(3):243–248, 1994.
Harwood, H. Updating Estimates of the Economic Costs of Alcohol Abuse in the United States: Estimates, Update Methods and Data. Report prepared by The Lewin Group for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2000.
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