Provisional - Summary Health Statistics for the U.S. Population: National Health Interview Survey, 2006Selected Highlights
Alcohol Drinking Status (Tables 26-27)
• Overall, 48% of adults 18 years of age and over were current regular drinkers, 12% were current infrequent drinkers, 6% were former regular drinkers, 8% were former infrequent drinkers, and 25% were lifetime abstainers.
• Fifty-seven percent of men were current regular drinkers compared with 39% of women. Men were also more likely to be former regular drinkers than were women. Women were more likely to be current or former infrequent drinkers or lifetime abstainers than were men.
• As age increased, the percentage of adults who were current regular drinkers decreased.
• Asian adults were more likely to be lifetime abstainers compared with other single race groups.
• When results are considered by single race and ethnicity, 53% of non-Hispanic white adults were current regular drinkers compared with 39% of Hispanic adults and 35% of non-Hispanic black adults. Hispanic adults and non-Hispanic black adults were almost twice as likely as non-Hispanic white adults to be lifetime abstainers.
• Educational attainment and family income were positively associated with current regular drinking status and inversely associated with being a lifetime abstainer.
• Among adults less than 65 years of age, 55% of those who had private health insurance coverage were current regular drinkers compared with 47% of those who were uninsured and 31% of those who had Medicaid health care coverage.
• Among adults aged 65 and over, 37% of those who had private health insurance coverage were current regular drinkers compared with 28% of those who had only Medicare health care coverage and 19% of those who had Medicaid and Medicare health care coverage.
• Adults who were living with a partner were more likely to be current regular drinkers compared with other marital status categories.
• Regionally, 31% of adults living in the South were lifetime abstainers, in contrast to 27% in the West, 19% in the Midwest, and 19% in the Northeast.
• Twenty-four percent of non-Hispanic white women were lifetime abstainers compared with 49% of Hispanic women and 44% of non-Hispanic black women. Conversely, 46% of non-Hispanic white women were current regular drinkers compared with 25% of non-Hispanic black women and 24% of Hispanic women. Among men, 15% of non-Hispanic white men were lifetime abstainers compared with 23% of Hispanic men and 26% of non-Hispanic black men; 61% of non-Hispanic white men were current regular drinkers compared with 53% of Hispanic men and 48% of non-Hispanic black men.
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