Fifty years of self-reported alcohol consumption data was analyzed to determine patterns of alcohol use and disorders. Researchers found a decrease in average intake but an increase in wine consumption. The cumulative incidence of alcohol use disorders, however, did not decrease.
Abstract
Background
Population trends in patterns of alcohol use are important data for policymakers but are generally based on repeated cross-sectional surveys.
Methods
We used self-reported alcohol consumption data collected repeatedly over 50 years (1948-2003) among 8600 Framingham Heart Study participants to determine patterns of alcohol use and disorders according to sex, age, and birth cohorts.
Results
Among drinkers, there was a decrease across succeeding birth cohorts in average alcohol intake: among individuals between ages 30 and 59 years, age-adjusted mean intake was 30.6, 25.5, and 21.0 g/day for those born in 1900-1919, 1920-1939, and 1940-1959, respectively, in men (P
Conclusions
We found a decrease in average intake and more wine consumption over the more than 50 years of follow-up. The cumulative incidence of alcohol use disorders, however, did not show a decrease.
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— Yuqing Zhang, DSc , Xinxin Guo, MPH, Richard Saitz, MD, MPH, Daniel Levy, MD, MPH, Emily Sartini, MA, Jingbo Niu, DSc, R. Curtis Ellison, MD
This article was originally published in the August 2008 issue of the American Journal of Medicine.
