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CDC: Alcohol counseling effective, yet underused

A recent CDC report found that alcohol screening and counseling is an effective but underused health service.

About 38 million Americans drink alcohol excessively, according to a CDC press release. Excessive drinking causes about 88,000 deaths in the United States each year. Excessive consumption of alcohol can lead to various health and social problems, including heart disease, sexually transmitted diseases, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, automobile accidents and violence.

The CDC analyzed data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System study conducted in 2011. The study included adults aged at least 18 years from 44 states who self-reported if they had ever discussed alcohol consumption with a health professional.

The report found that one in six adults reportedly discussed alcohol consumption with their doctor. One in four binge drinkers reported discussing alcohol use with a health professional. Of those who binge drank 10 or more times a month, one in three reported discussing the issue with their doctor. Seventeen percent of pregnant women said their doctor discussed alcohol use with them.

Alcohol screening and counseling can reduce the amount of alcohol consumed by binge drinkers by 25% for a single occasion.

“Drinking too much alcohol has many more health risks than most people realize. Alcohol screening and brief counseling can help people set realistic goals for themselves and achieve those goals. Health care workers can provide this service to more patients and involve communities to help people avoid dangerous levels of drinking,” CDC Director Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, said in the release.