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    #1

    Interesting article

    Saw this article on Yahoo today.


    WASHINGTON (AFP) - Three out of ten Americans suffer some form of alcohol abuse or alcohol addiction during their lives, according to a new study of drinking and dependency.
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    Some 12.5 percent of more than 43,000 people surveyed reported having succumbed to alcohol dependence during their lives, including 3.8 percent who had had the problem during the year prior to the 2001-2002 survey.

    In addition, researchers led by Deborah Hasin of Columbia University Medical Center in New York found that 17.8 percent of all those questioned reported having experienced alcohol abuse during their lives.

    They found that alcohol abuse began on average at the age of 22.5 years, and dependence on average began earlier, at 21.9.

    But the average age at which people first got treatment for dependence was 29.8 years.

    "Alcohol dependence was significantly more prevalent among men, whites, Native Americans, younger and unmarried adults and those with lower incomes," the study's authors wrote in a summary of the study, which is published in the July issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

    Alcohol abuse, addiction hits 3 of 10 Americans - Yahoo! News
    Marcie
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    #2
    Interesting article

    Interesting - thanks. I would have actually thought the number was higher than that. Maybe they are only counting people who seek treatment.

    Thanks for sharing.

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      #3
      Interesting article

      Good point Barb, i'm sure that there are thousands more out there who don't even realise that they have a problem.....
      sigpicXXX

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        #4
        Interesting article

        I agree-I would think the #'s would be higher.
        :flower: Change a life; make someone feel important. ................. ........................ ..................... ........................ ................. ....... sigpic

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          #5
          Interesting article

          I'm sure the numbers are much higher, many don't even admit they have a problem or at least not publicly.
          Marcie

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            #6
            Interesting article

            Thanks, Marcie!

            Actually this is not just people who have sought treatment but the percentage of a random sample whose responses meet the specific criteria for abuse or dependence. I think it may seem low to us because drinkers tend to hang out with drinkers so it would seem to us that EVERYONE drinks too much! If we spend a lot of time in bars or with people who drink then it's hard to pull back and realize that actually the vast majority of people do not drink the way we do.

            It is also impossible to know how many people are in denial about how much they actually drink or even how many may have under-reported due to shame--even though it's anonymous....

            And, of course, each one of those people who abuse or depend on alcohol affects a larger circle of people including family, friends and co-workers. It would be difficult to find anyone who is not negatively affected by alcohol either directly or indirectly.
            "I'm a sucker for a good resurrection story." Anne Lamott

            Comment

              #7
              Interesting article

              Sorry, my response is a little off because I hadn't refreshed my screen and I hadn't read what everyone else had already said!
              "I'm a sucker for a good resurrection story." Anne Lamott

              Comment

                #8
                Interesting article

                memarcie;158912 wrote: I'm sure the numbers are much higher, many don't even admit they have a problem or at least not publicly.
                I'd guess the percentage to be more in the 15 to 20% range from what I observe that is.
                Funny how the govrmt sells us the stuff at a huge tax profit. 15% of the north american
                population alone is like 60 million people. Taxation on booze and smokes is huge!!

                Comment

                  #9
                  Interesting article

                  I agree Sujul - we probably have clouded vision - thinking because we drink everyone else does !!!
                  I feel as though it's all happening to someone right next to me.
                  I'm close, I can feel it, I can hear it, but it isn't really me.

                  Marilyn Monroe

                  Comment

                    #10
                    Interesting article

                    Well 30% seems like a very high figure to me. Also, the criteria include things like DUIs, legal problems. does it include binge drinking or blackouts?

                    The article is about the surprising finding that most people don't seek treatment when supposedly good treatment is available. LOL.they mentioned 12 step programs. and what about insurance implications? you get the alcohol diagnosis code and you might forfeit private insurance later?

                    Interestingly, the article points out that the average age of onset is 22 but for the small amount of people who do seek help tend to do so much later, closer to 30.

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