Blacks Have Much Lower Incidence of Alcohol Abuse than Whites

BETHESDA, Md., April 22 -- Blacks are 40% less likely than whites to develop alcohol abuse and Hispanics are half as likely as whites to develop generalized anxiety disorder. These are among the few surprises in a major study of the incidence of such disorders, reported Bridget Grant, Ph.D., of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and colleagues online today in Molecular Psychiatry. The study showed that compared with whites, the odds ratio for blacks developing new cases of alcohol abuse in a year was 0.60 with a 95% confidence interval from 0.34 to 0.95. or Hispanics, the odds ratio for generalized anxiety disorder was 0.5 with a 95% confidence interval from 0.27 to 0.91.ut in general, the risk of developing substance use, mood, and anxiety disorders doesn't vary much along racial or ethnic lines, the researchers said.Dr. Grant said the analysis of data from the second wave of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions attempted to tease out not only incidence, but also risk factors for a host of DSM-IV conditions. These included such challenging problems as major depressive disorder, alcohol abuse and dependence, and generalized anxiety disorder.Knowing the risk factors, she said, will mean that physicians can begin to develop interventions that will prevent disease.One promising finding is that many disorders are linked temporally -- a patient who develops one has an increased risk of developing the second. SOURCE: MEDPAGE TODAY