Trends in Adult Alcohol Use and Binge Drinking in the Early 21st‐Century United States: A Meta‐Analysis of 6 National Survey Series
Open accessAbstract
Background: Recent trends in alcoholic liver disease, alcohol‐related emergency room admissions, and alcohol use disorder prevalence as measured by general‐population surveys have raised concerns about rising alcohol‐related morbidity and mortality in the United States. In contrast, upward trends in per capita alcohol consumption have been comparatively modest. Methods: To resolve these discordant observations, we sought to examine trends in the prevalence of alcohol use and binge drinking from 6 regularly or periodically administered national surveys using a meta‐analytic approach. Annual or periodic prevalence estimates for past‐12‐month or past‐30‐day alcohol use and binge drinking were estimated for available time points between the years 2000 and 2016. Estimates were combined in a random‐effects regression model in which prevalence was modeled as a log‐linear function of time to obtain meta‐analytic trend estimates for the full population and by sex, race, age, and educational attainment. Results: Meta‐analysis–derived estimates of average annual percentage increase in the prevalence of alcohol use and binge drinking were 0.30% per year (95% CI: 0.22%, 0.38%) and 0.72% per year (95% CI: 0.46%, 0.98%), respectively. There was substantial between‐survey heterogeneity among trend estimates, although there was notable consistency in the degree to which trends have impacted various demographic groups. For example, most surveys found that the changes in prevalence for alcohol use and binge drinking were large and positive for ages 50 to 64 and 65 and up, and smaller, negative, or nonsignificant for ages 18 to 29. Conclusions: Significant increases in the prevalence of alcohol use and of binge drinking over the past 10 to 15 years were observed, but not for all demographic groups. However, the increase in binge drinking among middle‐aged and older adults is substantial and may be driving increasing rates of alcohol‐related morbidity and mortality.
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About 25% of the United States' adult population reported binge drinking behavior.
“According to a recent meta-analysis including six national surveys, about 25% of the United States’ adult population reported binge drinking behavior [89].”
From The Cyclical Battle of Insomnia and Mental Health Impairment in Firefighters: A Narrative Review (2024) · cites this paper as [89]
The Discussion’s Overview of Results describes a meta-analysis of six nationally representative surveys of US adults and reports trends in binge-drinking prevalence. The Results section, “Binge Drinking Episodes,” discusses the proportion reporting an episode, but the passages in our copy do not give an overall prevalence of about 25%; they report rates of change instead. No page numbers are available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.83)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredRelative to the general population, these numbers are significantly elevated.
“Relative to the general population, these numbers are significantly elevated.”
From The Cyclical Battle of Insomnia and Mental Health Impairment in Firefighters: A Narrative Review (2024) · cites this paper as [89]
The Discussion’s Overview of Results compares changes in alcohol use and binge drinking across demographic groups with changes in the general population, but it does not establish that the unspecified “these numbers” are significantly higher than general-population levels. The Results section likewise reports trends rather than the comparison asserted here. Searched for a general-population comparison of elevated rates. (LLM, conf=0.75)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredWhile overall AUD prevalence may be declining, higher-risk drinking behaviors, such as binge-drinking, among specific populations could be on the rise.
“Furthermore, while overall AUD prevalence may be declining, higher-risk drinking behaviors, such as binge-drinking, among specific populations could be on the rise [29,30].”
From Global epidemiology of alcohol-related liver disease, liver cancer, and alcohol use disorder, 2000–2021 (2025) · cites this paper as [30]
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- Authors
- Grucza, R. A., Sher, K. J., Kerr, W. C., Krauss, M. J., Lui, C. K., McDowell, Y. E., Hartz, S., Virdi, G., & Bierut, L. J.
- Affiliations
- Washington University in St. Louis (US)
- University of Missouri (US)
- Public Health Institute (US)
- Corresponding author
- Grucza, Richard A.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2018-08-23
- Volume
- 42
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 1939-1950
- ISSN
- 0145-6008 (ISSN-L)
- 1530-0277
- PMC
- PMC6364977
- OpenAlex
- W2887367196
- Cited by
- 433
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2026: 40 · 2025: 67 · 2024: 69 · 2023: 62 · 2022: 60 · 2021: 59 · 2020: 52 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 4.82
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- NIH Clinical Center (P50AA005595, R01AA024133, R01DA036583, R01DA042195, R21 AA025689, U10AA008401)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pathology and Forensic Medicine › Alcohol Consumption and Health Effects
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Smoking Behavior and Cessation
- Keywords
- alcohol use prevalence, binge drinking, middle-aged and older adults, alcohol-related morbidity and mortality, alcoholism, national survey data
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Alcohol Drinking, Female, Health Surveys, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, United States, Young Adult, Binge Drinking
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