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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2021 Nov 1.
Published in final edited form as: Am J Prev Med. 2020 Aug 1;59(5):669–677. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2020.04.018

Table 1.

Prevalence of drinking patterns among adults by selected socio-demographic characteristics, 2014–2015 National Alcohol Survey and 2015 BRFSS, United States

Characteristic 2014–2015 National Alcohol Survey 2015 BRFSS
Overall Non-drinking, past 12 monthsa Current/ non-binge drinking, past 12 monthsb Binge drinking, past 12 monthsc Overall Non-drinking, past 30 daysd Current/non-binge drinking, past 30 dayse Binge drinking, past 30 daysf
n Weighted % (95% confidence interval) n Weighted % (95% confidence interval)
Overall 7,067 35.2 (33.5, 36.9) 38.7 (37.0, 40.4) 26.1 (24.4, 27.8) 408,069 48.0 (47.7, 48.3) 34.6 (34.3, 34.9) 17.4 (17.1, 17.6)
Sex
 Men 2,899 30.2 (27.8, 32.5) 38.8 (36.2, 41.3) 31.1 (28.5, 33.7) 171,928 41.5 (41.1, 42.0) 35.6 (35.2, 36.1) 22.9 (22.5, 23.3)
 Women 4,168 39.9 (37.6, 42.2) 38.6 (36.3, 40.9) 21.5 (19.4, 23.6) 236,141 54.1 (53.7, 54.5) 33.7 (33.3, 34.1) 12.3 (12.0, 12.5)
Age group, years
 18–24 477 27.9 (22.7, 33.2) 24.4 (19.2, 29.6) 47.7 (41.6, 53.7) 21,740 49.8 (48.8, 50.9) 24.0 (23.1, 25.0) 26.1 (25.2, 27.1)
 25–34 887 24.6 (20.7, 28.4) 32.6 (28.2, 36.9) 42.9 (38.2, 47.5) 38,847 38.8 (38.0, 39.6) 34.2 (33.4, 35.0) 27.0 (26.3, 27.7)
 35–44 973 28.6 (24.5, 32.8) 38.1 (33.6, 42.5) 33.3 (28.8, 37.7) 46,634 43.3 (42.5, 44.2) 36.0 (35.3, 36.8) 20.6 (20.0, 21.3)
 45–54 1,220 34.5 (30.4, 38.6) 44.5 (40.3, 48.8) 21.0 (17.4, 24.5) 66,238 45.0 (44.3, 45.7) 37.7 (37.1, 38.4) 17.2 (16.7, 17.8)
 55–64 1,435 39.9 (36.0, 43.8) 46.1 (42.1, 50.2) 13.9 (11.2, 16.7) 91,795 50.3 (49.6, 50.9) 37.6 (37.0, 38.2) 12.1 (11.7, 12.5)
 ≥65 1,950 52.2 (48.9, 55.5) 42.0 (38.8, 45.3) 5.8 (4.1, 7.5) 142,815 59.3 (58.8, 59.8) 35.4 (34.9, 35.9) 5.4 (5.1, 5.6)
Race/Ethnicity
 White, non-Hispanic 3,325 31.2 (29.2, 33.3) 40.0 (37.8, 42.3) 28.7 (26.5, 30.9) 318,556 43.8 (43.5, 44.1) 38.3 (37.9, 38.6) 17.9 (17.6, 18.2)
 Black, non-Hispanic 1,762 42.2 (38.0, 46.4) 37.8 (33.7, 41.9) 20.0 (16.3, 23.8) 31,262 55.8 (54.7, 56.8) 30.2 (29.3, 31.2) 14.0 (13.3, 14.8)
 Hispanic 1,622 42.4 (38.4, 46.5) 32.8 (28.8, 36.7) 24.8 (21.1, 28.4) 27,613 55.7 (54.7, 56.7) 24.9 (24.0, 25.8) 19.4 (18.6, 20.2)
 Other 358 43.6 (36.6, 50.6) 40.0 (33.0, 47.0) 16.4 (11.4, 21.4) 24,411 55.2 (53.8, 56.6) 30.0 (28.8, 31.2) 14.8 (13.8, 15.8)
Education
 Less than high school 911 58.7 (53.3, 64.1) 25.2 (20.4, 30.0) 16.1 (11.8, 20.3) 30,137 68.6 (67.6, 69.6) 17.1 (16.3, 17.9) 14.3 (13.5, 15.1)
 High school graduate 1,889 43.5 (40.1, 46.9) 36.2 (32.9, 39.5) 20.3 (17.3, 23.3) 112,700 55.1 (54.5, 55.7) 27.6 (27.1, 28.1) 17.3 (16.8, 17.7)
 Some college 1,831 31.8 (28.8, 34.9) 39.8 (36.6, 43.0) 28.4 (25.2, 31.4) 112,231 44.9 (44.3, 45.5) 36.8 (36.3, 37.4) 18.3 (17.8, 18.7)
 College graduate 2,412 21.0 (18.7, 23.3) 45.7 (42.7, 48.7) 33.3 (30.2, 36.3) 151,750 33.3 (32.8, 33.8) 48.5 (48.1, 49.0) 18.2 (17.8, 18.5)
Employment status
 Employed 3,599 25.4 (23.4, 27.5) 40.1 (37.7, 42.4) 34.5 (32.2, 36.9) 200,231 38.7 (38.3, 39.1) 38.9 (38.5, 39.3) 22.4 (22.0, 22.7)
 Unemployed 3,437 50.1 (47.4, 52.7) 36.6 (34.1, 39.1) 13.3 (11.4, 15.3) 205,202 59.9 (59.4, 60.3) 29.2 (28.8, 29.6) 10.9 (10.6, 11.2)
Marital status
 Married 3,690 33.1 (30.9, 35.3) 42.3 (40.0, 44.6) 24.6 (22.4, 26.7) 228,722 45.7 (45.3, 46.1) 38.9 (38.5, 39.3) 15.4 (15.2, 15.7)
 Not married (divorced, widowed, never married) 3,351 37.9 (35.3, 40.5) 33.7(31.2, 36.3) 28.3 (25.7, 31.0) 177,056 50.8 (50.3, 51.3) 29.3 (28.9, 29.7) 19.9 (19.5, 20.3)

BRFSS: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

a

Did not consume a drink of alcohol on any occasion during the previous 12 months, including lifetime abstainers.

b

Consumed ≥1 drink, but <4 drinks, on any day during the previous 12 months (women); or consumed at least ≥1 drink, but <5 drinks, on any day in the last 12 months (men).

c

Consumed ≥4 drinks of alcohol (women), or ≥5 drinks (men), on one or more days during the previous 12 months.

d

Did not consume a drink of alcohol on any occasion during the previous 30 days, including lifetime abstainers.

e

Consumed ≥1 drink, but <4 drinks, on any occasion during the previous 30 days (women); or consumed at least ≥1 drink, but <5 drinks, on any occasion during the previous 30 days (men).

f

Consumed ≥4 drinks of alcohol (women), or ≥5 drinks (men), on one or more occasions during the previous 30 days.