Alcohol Abuse and Dependence

R. Lorraine Collins & Kurt H. Dermen

In U.S. general population surveys, approximately 70% of men and 60% of women report drinking on at least one occasion during the previous year. The majority of drinkers consume light to moderate amounts of alcohol (typically defined as no more than one drink per day for a woman and two drinks per day for a man) and experience few, if any, negative health effects of drinking alcohol. Those negative effects that do occur, such as cognitive impairment and decreased motor skills/coordination, tend to be short term, usually resolving themselves as soon as alcohol is metabolized and removed from the body. Recent research suggests that moderate drinkers may even experience long-term cardiovascular benefits of alcohol. Among those who have ever consumed alcohol (approximately 92% of the adult population), prevalence surveys suggest that up to 14% eventually develop alcohol dependence. At the higher levels of use that characterize alcohol abuse and dependence, ...

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