Feature

According to data from the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 68% of adults ages 21 and older in the United States drink alcohol. At the same time, researchers believe that the recent “sober curious” movement may be encouraging some people to reevaluate their relationship with alcohol and the impact that drinking can have on their health.

Underage drinking and alcohol misuse by young adults are serious public health concerns in the United States. The 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) found that 15% of people ages 12 to 20 and 50% of people ages 18 to 25 reported drinking alcohol in the past month, with 8.2% of 12- to 20-year-olds and 29.5% of 18- to 25-year-olds reporting binge drinking in the past month.1,2 Surveys also consistently find that young people are among the biggest users of the internet and mobile devices.

Alcohol screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) can be an effective method for identifying persons either at risk for or with alcohol-related problems and for connecting them to treatment. Recent data suggest, however, that while screening for alcohol misuse is common in primary care and other health care settings, patients are less likely to be provided a brief intervention for problematic drinking and even more unlikely to be referred to or receive treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD).

For many years, complete abstinence from alcohol consumption was viewed as the most effective way to recover from alcohol use disorder (AUD) and was a primary outcome of AUD treatment. A large body of evidence, however, suggests that treatment and recovery strategies that reduce heavy alcohol consumption and alcohol-related consequences without complete abstinence can be effective for mitigating the harms associated with alcohol misuse for many individuals.

Decades of research have firmly established the importance of asking primary care patients about their alcohol use, providing brief advice about reducing alcohol misuse, and referring them to appropriate alcohol treatments, as necessary. Studies consistently find that these practices, known collectively as alcohol screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT), can be used effectively by providers across the health care spectrum to prevent or reduce alcohol misuse among their patients.

Drinking too much—whether on a single occasion or over many years—can take a serious toll on an individual’s health. Clinicians across the health care spectrum can play important roles in preventing and treating the harmful effects of alcohol. This role is particularly important among providers who manage patients with liver diseases. 

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has released The Healthcare Professional’s Core Resource on Alcohol(HPCR) to help healthcare professionals provide evidence-based care for people who drink alcohol. Created with busy clinicians in mind, the HPCR provides concise, thorough information designed to help them integrate alcohol care into their practice.

Another priority is the development of new medications to treat alcohol-related consequences and conditions, such as AUD, alcohol-associated organ damage (AAOD), alcohol withdrawal, and alcohol overdose. An example of an NIAAA-supported SBIR project, led by Felix Moser, Ph.D., at Synlife Bio, is the development of a novel therapeutic injection to counteract alcohol overdose.