Alcohol Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Alcohol, including details on use, abuse, treatment, health, rehab.

Tracking binge drinking among U.S. childbearing-age women.

Tsai J, Floyd RL, Bertrand J

Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA. jxt9@cdc.gov

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this analysis was to track the estimated prevalence of binge drinking for the years 2001-2003 among U.S. women of childbearing age in order to inform ongoing efforts to prevent alcohol-exposed pregnancies. METHOD: A total of 58,431, 64,181, and 65,678 women aged 18-44 for the years 2001, 2002, and 2003, respectively, participated in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey. The estimated binge drinking prevalence for each survey year and changes in these estimates for the entire survey period were calculated for these women. RESULTS: The estimated binge drinking prevalence among childbearing-age women 18-44 years for the years 2001, 2002, and 2003 was 11.9%, 12.4%, and 13.0%, respectively. The estimated number of childbearing-age women who engaged in binge drinking rose from 6.2 million in 2001 to 7.1 million in 2003, an increase of 0.9 million. CONCLUSION: The results of this analysis provide support for enhancing efforts among healthcare providers to identify and intervene with childbearing-age women who engage in alcohol use that can increase their risks for various health problems, including an alcohol-exposed pregnancy.

Published 13 April 2007 in Prev Med, 44(4): 298-302.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Alcohol Research Today. All Rights Reserved.