Australia ranks near top when it comes to alcohol abuse: Study

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDAug 9 2010

In a new study researchers have found that Australia ranks near the top when it comes to alcohol abuse. The study was conducted by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) and it found that one in five Australians has a drinking problem and four in five go untreated for these problems. Professor Maree Teesson and her team analyzed data collected from almost 9,000 Australians aged 16 to 85 years for the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing in 2007.

Some findings of the study were alarming –

• It says 18 per cent of Australians will experience periods of problematic drinking within their lifetime, while four per cent become alcoholic.
• Problems may be inability to function normally or having too many domestic rows.
• Professor Maree Teesson said it totaled 22 per cent of the population - or about 3.5 million Australians - whose lives would be seriously and negatively affected by alcohol.
• One third of Australian men will have a drinking problem at some point in their lives - about double the rate of alcohol abuse among women.
• Married people and those from a non-English speaking background were less likely to have alcohol related problems.
• Men born between 1987 to 1997 were 1.7 times more likely to drink at risky levels compared to men born in the decade prior.
• More than 40 per cent of those with alcohol problems also report a mental illness, while comparison with a similar study done 10 years ago showed no improvement.

According to Professor Maree Teesson the impact that alcohol has in one’s life is of prime consideration. She says that more young men are likely to suffer and also explained the stigma attached to seeking help with this problem. She said, “One reason for the lack of treatment is that alcohol problems still have a terrible stigma about them…People are much less likely to want to own up to having a problem with alcohol than they are about other physical or mental illness yet their abuse of alcohol has serious consequences….(They) include getting into fights, drink driving (license suspensions), taking time off work, child neglect, getting into trouble with the police and driving while drunk.”

The paper concluded “prevalence rates for alcohol use disorders in Australia are some of the highest ... worldwide”. Meanwhile, “treatment rates were unacceptably low”. The study is to be published this week in the journal Addiction.