Most drinkers that overindulge are not considered alcoholics, though the behavior can lead to serious health risks, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.
Out of the drinkers surveyed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, nine of 10 were not considered dependent on alcohol even though their drinking was excessive. The study was the first to show that not all excessive drinkers are dependent on the substance.
Out of those who drank excessively, roughly 10 percent met the criteria for alcohol dependence. The most common form of excessive drinking is binge drinking, a pattern where people consume five or more drinks within a short period of time.
Bob Brewer, who heads the CDC's Alcohol Program in the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, cautions that drinkers still need to worry about their behavior. The study rather describes that pushing back against excessive drinking needs to be done differently instead of focusing it solely on alcoholism.
"Knowing that nine out of 10 people who drink too much are not alcohol dependent in no way diminishes the impact of alcohol dependence as a problem. It just says the problem we're dealing with is bigger than that," Brewer said. "We need to look at this problem with a wider-angle lens and consider not just treatment for those who need it."
The people who were most likely to be considered alcohol dependent were those who earn less than $25,000 per year, have less than a high school education or are Native American. About one-third of people with more than 10 binge drinking occurrences in the past month qualified as alcoholics, according to Business Insider.
Over drinking is the driving factor in 88,000 deaths every year in the United States and attributing to HIV infections, unintended pregnancies, domestic violence and eventual addiction.
