Alcohol use disorder affects '1 in 3 Americans' in their lifetime

http://goo.gl/lOQoQ9

Abuse criteria involve the social problems of drinking too much while the dependence criteria involve classic measures ofaddiction such as withdrawal and time spent consuming alcohol.

The main finding of the study was that, among Americans, there is a lifetime AUD prevalence of 29.1% - but only 19.8% of adults are ever treated.

The results mean that the proportion of American adults having AUD in the previous 12 months translates into about 32.6 million people, and for having AUD at some time in their life, about 68.5 million people.