Alcohol as a disease
Epidemiology is an eclectic discipline comprising facets of sociology, statistics, medicine, and demography. It is a branch of medical science that deals with the incidence, prevalence, and control of disease in a population and includes the study of factors that affect the progress of a disease.When we discuss the incidence of a disease we are concerned with the number of new cases within a specific time period. When we discuss the prevalence of a disease we are concerned with the total number of cases within a population. This module focuses on the epidemiology of alcohol use. We will examine population characteristics that are related to differences in alcohol consumption between groups of individuals such as gender, age, nationality, and ethnicity. "Forty-four percent of the adult U.S. population (aged 18 and over) are current drinkers who have consumed at least 12 drinks in the preceding year (Dawson et al. 1995). Although most people who drink do so safely, the minority who consume alcohol heavily produce an impact that ripples outward to encompass their families, friends, and communities" ( Alcohol Research & Health: Highlights From the Tenth Special Report to Congress, Health Risks and Benefits of Alcohol Consumption
7 percent for American Indians/Alaska Natives, and 42. Such data are valuable in identifying subpopulations that are at risk for developing alcohol-related problems. 9 percent of black youths were current drinkers, while rates were above 15 percent for other racial/ethnic groups. 4 percent of the population) meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse or alcoholism (Grant et al. 0 percent of whites reported past month use. Binge use - Five or more drinks on the same occasion at least once in the past 30 days. For example, do men drink more than women, on average, because of differences in social norms? Or, is there some neurochemical difference in the brains of men and women that predisposes men to greater alcohol consumption? Thus, we should remember, that although epidemiologic studies can reveal important factors related to alcohol consumption, such data do not provide evidence of a causal relation. The survey includes a set of questions asking about the recent use and frequency of the consumption of alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine, whiskey, brandy, and mixed drinks. SAMHSA conducts the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Some major findings from the 2002 NSDUH concerning age and alcohol consumption are: * The prevalence of current alcohol use increased with increasing age in 2002, from 2.
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