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Patterns of alcohol consumption and alcohol-impaired driving in the United States.
Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2008 Apr; 32(4):639-44.AC

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes kill approximately 17,000 Americans annually and were associated with more than $51 billion in total costs in 2000. Relatively little is known about the drinking patterns of alcohol-impaired (AI) drivers in the United States.

METHODS

2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) was analyzed for alcohol consumption and self-reported AI driving among U.S. adults aged > or =18 years for all states. Alcohol consumption was divided into 4 categories: binge/heavy, binge/nonheavy, nonbinge/heavy, and nonbinge/nonheavy. Binge drinking was defined as > or =5 drinks for men or > or =4 drinks for women on one or more occasions in the past month, and heavy drinking was defined as average daily consumption of >2 drinks/day (men) or >1 drink/day (women). The prevalence of AI driving was examined by drinking pattern and by demographic characteristics. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between drinking patterns and AI driving.

RESULTS

Five percent of drinkers were engaged in AI driving during the past 30 days. Overall, 84% of AI drivers were binge drinkers and 88% of AI driving episodes involved binge drinkers. By drinking category, binge/nonheavy drinkers accounted for the largest percentage of AI drivers (49.4%), while binge/heavy drinkers accounted for the most episodes of AI driving (51.3%). The adjusted odds of AI driving were 20.1 (95% CI: 16.7, 24.3) for binge/heavy, 8.2 (6.9, 9.7) for binge/nonheavy, and 3.9 (2.4, 6.3) for nonbinge/heavy drinkers, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a strong association between binge drinking and AI driving. Most AI drivers and almost half of all AI driving episodes involve persons who are not heavy drinkers (based on average daily consumption). Implementing effective interventions to prevent binge drinking could substantially reduce AI driving.

Links

Publisher Full Text (DOI)

Authors+Show Affiliations

Flowers NT
Emerging Investigations and Analytic Methods Branch, Division of Adult and Community Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30341, USA. ndf0@cdc.gov
Naimi TS
No affiliation info available
Brewer RD
No affiliation info available
Elder RW
No affiliation info available
Shults RA
No affiliation info available
Jiles R
No affiliation info available

MeSH

Accidents, TrafficAdolescentAdultAlcohol DrinkingAlcoholic IntoxicationAutomobile DrivingCross-Sectional StudiesEthanolFemaleHumansInterviews as TopicMaleMiddle AgedPopulation SurveillanceRisk-TakingSeat BeltsUnited States

Pub Type(s)

Comparative Study
Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

18341648

Citation

Flowers, Nicole T., et al. "Patterns of Alcohol Consumption and Alcohol-impaired Driving in the United States." Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, vol. 32, no. 4, 2008, pp. 639-44.
Flowers NT, Naimi TS, Brewer RD, et al. Patterns of alcohol consumption and alcohol-impaired driving in the United States. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2008;32(4):639-44.
Flowers, N. T., Naimi, T. S., Brewer, R. D., Elder, R. W., Shults, R. A., & Jiles, R. (2008). Patterns of alcohol consumption and alcohol-impaired driving in the United States. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 32(4), 639-44. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-0277.2008.00622.x
Flowers NT, et al. Patterns of Alcohol Consumption and Alcohol-impaired Driving in the United States. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2008;32(4):639-44. PubMed PMID: 18341648.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Patterns of alcohol consumption and alcohol-impaired driving in the United States. AU - Flowers,Nicole T, AU - Naimi,Timothy S, AU - Brewer,Robert D, AU - Elder,Randy W, AU - Shults,Ruth A, AU - Jiles,Ruth, Y1 - 2008/03/13/ PY - 2008/3/18/pubmed PY - 2008/6/3/medline PY - 2008/3/18/entrez SP - 639 EP - 44 JF - Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research JO - Alcohol Clin Exp Res VL - 32 IS - 4 N2 - BACKGROUND: Alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes kill approximately 17,000 Americans annually and were associated with more than $51 billion in total costs in 2000. Relatively little is known about the drinking patterns of alcohol-impaired (AI) drivers in the United States. METHODS: 2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) was analyzed for alcohol consumption and self-reported AI driving among U.S. adults aged > or =18 years for all states. Alcohol consumption was divided into 4 categories: binge/heavy, binge/nonheavy, nonbinge/heavy, and nonbinge/nonheavy. Binge drinking was defined as > or =5 drinks for men or > or =4 drinks for women on one or more occasions in the past month, and heavy drinking was defined as average daily consumption of >2 drinks/day (men) or >1 drink/day (women). The prevalence of AI driving was examined by drinking pattern and by demographic characteristics. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between drinking patterns and AI driving. RESULTS: Five percent of drinkers were engaged in AI driving during the past 30 days. Overall, 84% of AI drivers were binge drinkers and 88% of AI driving episodes involved binge drinkers. By drinking category, binge/nonheavy drinkers accounted for the largest percentage of AI drivers (49.4%), while binge/heavy drinkers accounted for the most episodes of AI driving (51.3%). The adjusted odds of AI driving were 20.1 (95% CI: 16.7, 24.3) for binge/heavy, 8.2 (6.9, 9.7) for binge/nonheavy, and 3.9 (2.4, 6.3) for nonbinge/heavy drinkers, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: There is a strong association between binge drinking and AI driving. Most AI drivers and almost half of all AI driving episodes involve persons who are not heavy drinkers (based on average daily consumption). Implementing effective interventions to prevent binge drinking could substantially reduce AI driving. SN - 1530-0277 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/18341648/Patterns_of_alcohol_consumption_and_alcohol_impaired_driving_in_the_United_States_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -