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Citation |
Bor J, Basu S, Coutts A, McKee M, Stuckler D. Alcohol Alcohol. 2013; 48(3): 343-348. |
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Affiliation |
Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Building 1, 11th Floor, Boston, MA, USA. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 2013, Oxford University Press) |
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DOI |
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PMID |
23360873 |
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Abstract |
AIMS: The aim of this study was to assess changes in alcohol use in the USA during the Great Recession. METHODS: Drinking participation, drinking frequency, drinking intensity, total alcohol consumption and frequency of binge drinking were assessed in a nationally representative sample of 2,050,431 US women and men aged 18 and older, interviewed between 2006 and 2010. RESULTS: The prevalence of any alcohol use significantly declined during the economic recession, from 52.0% in 2006-2007 to 51.6% in 2008-2009 (P < 0.05), corresponding to 880,000 fewer drinkers (95% confidence interval [CI] 140,000 to 1.6 million). There was an increase, however, in the prevalence of frequent binging, from 4.8% in 2006-2007 to 5.1% in 2008-2009 (P < 0.01), corresponding to 770,000 more frequent bingers (95% CI 390,000 to 1.1 million). Non-Black, unmarried men under 30 years, who recently became unemployed, were at highest risk for frequent binging. CONCLUSION: During the Great Recession there was an increase in abstention from alcohol and a rise in frequent binging. Language: en |