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Americans Tippling Less Than Their Ancestors

Americans at the beginning of the current century are consuming fewer alcoholic beverages than their relatives at the beginning of the previous century, according to new data published in the August issue of the American Journal of Medicine.  And, of all alcoholic beverages consumed, America’s thirst for beer seems to be drying out the fastest.

These findings come from data collected by the Framingham Heart Study, an exhaustive study that began in 1948 and maintains a 4-year follow-up schedule that continues today.  The original survey enrollees were born anywhere from before 1900 until as late as 1959.  They agreed to interviews every four years and many of their children are enrolled in the study as a second-generation segment of the study.

One of the benefits of the study is that it establishes precise case histories that go back at least one generation and that include details of the many aspects of the participants’ lives, including their alcohol consumption.  The research team evaluated the history of alcohol consumption on 8,000 individuals.

Some more curiosity-quenching findings include:

• We’re drinking more wine but less beer.  There has been little change over the last 50 years in the amount of hard liquor Americans drink
• More people claim to be non-drinkers now than 50 years ago
• The closer to the end of the 20th century a person was born, the less they are likely to drink
• We drink more alcoholic beverages when we are younger than we do when we are older.

One unfortunate finding is that, even though the general American population is consuming alcoholic beverages in a more moderate, healthful, way, the rate of alcohol-related disorders has not declined over time.  The incidence of alcoholic cirrhosis and alcoholic cardiomyopathy has remained fairly constant throughout the study and across all age groups.

Yuqing Zhang, DSc, lead author of the study, is affiliated with the Boston University School of Medicine.

Source: Elsevier

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