Categorizing US state drinking practices and consumption trends.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Sociology
• Substance Abuse Research

Background:

• Understanding regional variations in alcohol consumption is crucial for targeted public health interventions.
• Previous research has indicated differences in drinking behaviors across US states, but a comprehensive grouping based on multiple consumption metrics was lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To categorize US states into distinct groups based on similar alcohol consumption patterns and trends.
• To identify regional variations in heavy drinking, current abstention, and per capita consumption levels.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of US state-level data on heavy drinking rates, current abstention, and per capita apparent alcohol consumption.
• Clustering of states into groups based on similarities in these consumption metrics.
• Examination of intra-group versus inter-group relationships between beer and spirits consumption series.

Main Results:

• Six distinct state groupings emerged, reflecting varied alcohol consumption cultures.
• The North Central and New England regions exhibited the highest levels of alcohol consumption and heavy drinking.
• The 'Dry South' region showed the lowest drinking levels, while Middle Atlantic, Pacific, and South Coast states displayed moderate consumption.

Conclusions:

• US states can be meaningfully categorized into regional groups based on distinct alcohol consumption profiles.
• Significant regional disparities in drinking behaviors, including heavy drinking and abstention, were identified.
• Further research is needed to clarify the cohesiveness of these groupings concerning specific beverage consumption patterns (beer vs. spirits).