While men have historically consumed more alcohol than women in the United States as well as the world at large, new research out of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) shows that the gap in the U.S. is decreasing – with women’s drinking patterns catching up with those of their male counterparts.
The NIAAA’s study, which examined annual national survey data conducted between 2002 and 2012, didn’t just find that women in America are drinking more, it also found that their alcohol-related harms have risen.
Lead researcher Aaron White, senior scientific advisor to the director of the NIAAA, stated that the findings of the analysis show “that over that period of time, differences in measures such as current drinking, number of drinking days per month, reaching criteria for an alcohol use disorder, and driving under the influence of alcohol in the past year, all narrowed for females and males.” So while males still continue to consume more alcohol than women, the differences between the two sexes “are diminishing.”
We found that over that period of time, differences in measures such as current drinking, number of drinking days per month, reaching criteria for an alcohol use disorder, and driving under the influence of alcohol in the past year, all narrowed for females and males (…) Males still consume more alcohol, but the differences between men and women are diminishing.
Dr. White and his colleagues reported their research online in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
According to NIAAA Director George F. Koob, PhD, the study’s findings offer further confirmation for “what other recent reports have suggested about changing patterns of alcohol use by men and women in the U.S.,” and it adds to the growing pile of evidence that women are at an increased health risk over men when it comes to the pitfalls of alcohol use.
In those ages 18 to 25 who were not in college, the analysis saw a “significant” rise in female binge drinking and, perhaps surprisingly to some, a significant decrease among males.
In addition to examining the differences in alcohol patterns between males and females, the study also examined the prevalence of drinkings who combine marijuana with alcohol and found that the percentage of 18 to 25 year old men who combined marijuana with alcohol during what Dr. White referred to “the last drinking occasion” rose from 15 to 19 percent. With female drinkers, the rate remained constant at about 10 percent.
As the reasons for the changes in drinking patterns is presently unclear to the study’s authors, they suggest that additional research may be necessary in order to identify the variables contributing to the changes seen.
In other alcohol related coverage here at Immortal News, daily alcohol consumption has been linked to cancer, pediatricians warn against drinking any alcohol while pregnant, alcohol use disorder reportedly affects almost 1 in 3 adults in America, and blue eyes have been linked to alcohol dependency.
