Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2006Alcohol 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 under 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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Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2006
