Nearly one-quarter of high school students reported binge drinking in 2009, as did more than 25% of adults aged 18-34 years.
These findings, published online Oct. 5 in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, are essentially unchanged from similar surveys conducted in 1993, wrote the authors, and indicate a need for community-specific, evidence-based interventions (MMWR 2010;59:1-6).
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Nearly a quarter of high-school students reported binge drinking in 2009. Teens often do not realize the health and social consequences of binge drinking.
“Although most binge drinkers are not alcohol dependent or alcoholics, they often engage in this high-risk behavior without realizing the health and social problems of their drinking. States and communities need to consider further strategies to create an environment that discourages binge drinking,” said Dr. Robert Brewer in a written statement also released Oct. 5. Dr. Brewer is the alcohol program leader at CDC and one of the authors of the report.
The CDC analyzed data from two sources. The first was the 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, conducted among adults aged 18 years and older on both landline and cellular telephones. The second was the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, filled out anonymously by students while in school.
The adult survey defined binge drinking as the consumption of four or more alcoholic drinks per occasion for women and five or more drinks per occasion for men during the preceding 30 days. Among the students, binge drinking was five or more drinks within “a couple of hours” in the preceding 30 days.
Among the landline respondents, the overall prevalence of binge drinking among adults in 2009 was 15.2% (compared to 14.2% in 1993), with more men reporting binge drinking than women (20.7% versus 10.0%, respectively). Among respondents aged 18-24, prevalence was 25.6%; among those aged 25-34, it fell slightly to 22.5%, and continued to decline with age.
Among the cellular respondents, the prevalence of binge drinking was slightly higher: 20.6% overall, with 26.5% for men and 14.5% for women. Among the 18- to 24-year age group, 35.4% reported binge drinking. As with the landline respondents, decline in prevalence continued with increase in age to 30.8% among 25- to 34-year-olds, and a further steady decline afterwards.
The survey also noted a higher prevalence of binge drinking among specific populations, including not only males and younger adults but also whites (at 16.0% among landline respondents, compared to 13.4% among Hispanics and 10.0% among blacks) and people with higher household incomes (above $75,000, the prevalence was 32.8%, compared to 16.3% for households with incomes between $50,000 and $75,000).
College graduates also reported binge drinking more frequently than did high school graduates with no college, as well as respondents with no high school diploma (34.7%, 28.2%, 10.5%, respectively).
Differences among the various population groups “might reflect differences in state and local laws that affect the price, availability, and marketing of alcoholic beverages,” postulated the authors.
High school students also reported frequent binge drinking, with 24.2% owning up to the practice in the last 30 days, including 25.0% of boys and 23.4% of girls.
Stratified further by grade, the prevalence among 9th graders was 15.3%, compared to 33.5% among 12th graders.
Overall alcohol use among high school students, including any drinking, not just bingeing, was 41.8%.
The researchers did cite several limitations, including the fact that data were self-reported and therefore likely underreported. Additionally, they stated that landline surveys may be less useful than cellular surveys, especially in ascertaining the drinking status of younger adults, since “an increasing proportion of youths and young adults aged 18-34 years use cellular telephones exclusively.”
Moreover, the response rate for both telephone surveys was low: 52.9% among landlines (comprising 412,005 respondents) and 37.6% for cell phone users (15,578 respondents).
Disclosures: There were no disclosures reported with this study.