Robert D. Brewer

Binge drinking and associated health risk behaviors among high school students.

OBJECTIVES. Underage drinking contributes to the 3 leading causes of death (unintentional injury, homicide, and suicide) among persons aged 12 to 20 years. Most adverse health effects from underage drinking stem from acute intoxication resulting from binge drinking. Although binge drinking, typically defined as consuming ≥5 drinks on an occasion, is a common pattern of alcohol consumption among youth, few population-based studies have focused specifically on the characteristics of underage binge drinkers and their associated health risk behaviors. METHODS. We analyzed data on current drinking, binge drinking, and other health risk behaviors from the 2003 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Prevalence estimates and 95% confidence intervals were calculated by using SAS and SUDAAN statistical software. Logistic regression was used to examine the associations between different patterns of alcohol consumption and health risk behaviors. RESULTS. Overall, 44.9% of high school students reported drinking alcohol during the past 30 days (28.8% binge drank and 16.1% drank alcohol but did not binge drink). Although girls reported more current drinking with no binge drinking, binge-drinking rates were similar among boys and girls. Binge-drinking rates increased with age and school grade. Students who binge drank were more likely than both nondrinkers and current drinkers who did not binge to report poor school performance and involvement in other health risk behaviors such as riding with a driver who had been drinking, being currently sexually active, smoking cigarettes or cigars, being a victim of dating violence, attempting suicide, and using illicit drugs. A strong dose-response relationship was found between the frequency of binge drinking and the prevalence of other health risk behaviors. CONCLUSIONS. Binge drinking is the most common pattern of alcohol consumption among high school youth who drink alcohol and is strongly associated with a wide range of other health risk behaviors. Effective intervention strategies (eg, enforcement of the minimum legal drinking age, screening and brief intervention, and increasing alcohol taxes) should be implemented to prevent underage alcohol consumption and adverse health and social consequences resulting from this behavior.

Economic costs of excessive alcohol consumption in the U.S., 2006

BACKGROUND Excessive alcohol consumption causes premature death (average of 79,000 deaths annually); increased disease and injury; property damage from fire and motor vehicle crashes; alcohol-related crime; and lost productivity. However, its economic cost has not been assessed for the U.S. since 1998. PURPOSE To update prior national estimates of the economic costs of excessive drinking. METHODS This study (conducted 2009-2010) followed U.S. Public Health Service Guidelines to assess the economic cost of excessive alcohol consumption in 2006. Costs for health care, productivity losses, and other effects (e.g., property damage) in 2006 were obtained from national databases. Alcohol-attributable fractions were obtained from multiple sources and used to assess the proportion of costs that could be attributed to excessive alcohol consumption. RESULTS The estimated economic cost of excessive drinking was

The Effectiveness of Limiting Alcohol Outlet Density As a Means of Reducing Excessive Alcohol Consumption and Alcohol-Related Harms

223.5 billion in 2006 (72.2% from lost productivity, 11.0% from healthcare costs, 9.4% from criminal justice costs, and 7.5% from other effects) or approximately

Contribution of Excessive Alcohol Consumption to Deaths and Years of Potential Life Lost in the United States

1.90 per alcoholic drink. Binge drinking resulted in costs of

The Effectiveness of Tax Policy Interventions for Reducing Excessive Alcohol Consumption and Related Harms

170.7 billion (76.4% of the total); underage drinking

2010 national and state costs of excessive alcohol consumption

24.6 [corrected] billion; and drinking during pregnancy

Patterns of Alcohol Consumption and Alcohol-Impaired Driving in the United States

5.2 billion. The cost of alcohol-attributable crime was

Effectiveness of Policies Restricting Hours of Alcohol Sales in Preventing Excessive Alcohol Consumption and Related Harms

73.3 billion. The cost to government was

The State Sets the Rate: The Relationship Among State-Specific College Binge Drinking, State Binge Drinking Rates, and Selected State Alcohol Control Policies

94.2 billion (42.1% of the total cost), which corresponds to about

Binge Drinking Among U.S. Active-Duty Military Personnel

0.80 per alcoholic drink consumed in 2006 (categories are not mutually exclusive and may overlap). CONCLUSIONS On a per capita basis, the economic impact of excessive alcohol consumption in the U.S. is approximately