Table 1. Population Distributions and Mean Number of Drinks Consumed at Baseline, by Drinking Status and Sociodemographic Characteristics, US Adults Aged ≥18 Years, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2011 .
| Sociodemographic Characteristics | Nonexcessive Drinkersa (n = 73,480,718) |
Excessive Drinkersb (n = 47,200,442) |
Nondrinkersc (n = 98,262,571) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population Proportion, % | Mean No. of Drinks Per Year | Population Proportion, % | Mean No. of Drinks Per Year | Population Proportion, % | |
| All respondents | 100 | 128.0 | 100 | 689.1 | 100 |
| Annual household income, $ | |||||
| <25,000 | 19.5 | 102.1 | 23.8 | 689.5 | 41.0 |
| 25,000–<50,000 | 25.3 | 124.6 | 25.1 | 722.1 | 27.3 |
| 50,000–<75,000 | 18.4 | 128.7 | 16.9 | 678.6 | 13.3 |
| ≥75,000 | 37.0 | 144.5 | 34.1 | 689.4 | 18.4 |
| Employment statusd | |||||
| Employed | 57.3 | 125.9 | 66.5 | 696.3 | 44.6 |
| Nonemployed | 42.7 | 131.6 | 33.5 | 674.0 | 55.4 |
| Race/ethnicity | |||||
| Non-Hispanic white | 87.8 | 133.4 | 85.3 | 703.8 | 73.4 |
| Othere | 12.2 | 105.8 | 14.7 | 632.8 | 26.6 |
Nonexcessive drinkers (33.6% of population, 60.9% of drinkers) were defined as respondents who consumed alcohol during the past 30 days but did not binge drink (≥5 drinks for men or ≥4 drinks for women on at least one occasion), was not categorized as a heavy drinker (daily average of >2 drinks for men or >1 drink for women [ie, >60 drinks per month for men or >30 drinks per month for women]), and aged 21 years or older.
Excessive drinkers (21.5% of population, 39.1% of drinkers) were defined as respondents who during the past 30 days either engaged in binge drinking (≥5 drinks for men or ≥4 drinks for women on at least one occasion), was categorized as a heavy drinker (daily average of >2 drinks for men or >1 drink for women [ie, >60 drinks per month for men or >30 drinks per month for women]), or aged 18–20 years and reported drinking any alcohol.
Nondrinkers were 44.9% of the population.
Employment for wages was self-reported. Those who were nonemployed were unemployed, self-employed, homemakers, students, retired, or unable to work.
“Other” racial/ethnic categories were non-Hispanic black, Hispanic white, Asian, or other race/ethnicity.