National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
The size of the older adult population is increasing rapidly. Alcohol use among older adults is also increasing . Data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health indicate that approximately 20 percent of adults aged 60-64 and around 10 percent over age 65 report current binge drinking. Older adults can experience a variety of problems from drinking alcohol...
About the Underage Drinking Research Initiative The Underage Drinking Research Initiative (UDRI) is a key program of NIAAA. The goal of this initiative is to better understand the factors that compel youth to begin drinking, continue drinking, and progress to harmful use, abuse, and dependence. We seek to understand and address underage drinking within the context of overall development, and...
NIAAA’s major initiatives seek to address alcohol-related issues across the lifespan. Our aim is to reduce the tremendous burden of illness resulting from the misuse of alcohol by: Preventing children and adolescents from beginning and continuing to drink alcohol Offering effective intervention for problem alcohol use at all ages To accomplish this, we support research in areas ranging from basic...
Treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD) includes behavioral treatments such as mutual support groups and individual therapy, as well as pharmaceutical treatments. Often these are used in combination. Currently, there are three Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medications for the treatment of AUD: Disulfiram (Antabuse®) In 1949, disulfiram became the first drug approved to treat alcoholism. The drug works by...