Abstract

PURPOSE
Underage drinking is common in the United States. This article presents nationally representative data on hospitalizations for alcohol use disorder (AUD) in youth.
METHODS
Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database, discharge records of individuals between 15 and 20 years diagnosed with AUD were identified. Incidence rates of these hospitalizations were calculated based on population estimates from the US Census Bureau.
RESULTS
In 2008, there were 699,506 nonobstetric discharges in 15- to 20-year-olds, of which 39,619 (5.6%) had an AUD diagnosis with or without an injury diagnosis. The overall annual incidence of AUD hospitalization was 18.3 per 10,000 boys and 12.3 per 10,000 girls. Native American boys in the Midwest had the highest incidence (101 per 10,000), and Asian/Pacific Islander girls in the South had the lowest (2 per 10,000). The estimated total charges for these hospitalizations were $755 million in 2008.
CONCLUSIONS
Hospitalization care for underage drinking is common, especially in certain race and in certain geographic regions and is associated with a substantial health care expenditure.

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Publisher Full Text

Authors

Kim JY, Asrani SK, Shah ND, Kim WR, Schneekloth TD

Institution

Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.

Source

The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine 50:6 2012 Jun pg 648-50

MeSH

Adolescent
Alcohol-Related Disorders
Alcoholism
Cross-Sectional Studies
Ethnic Groups
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Hospitalization
Humans
Incidence
Male
Treatment Outcome
United States
Young Adult

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

22626495