Sociodemographic Disparities in Binge and Heavy Drinking Among U.S. Adults, 2024

Excessive alcohol use remains a leading contributor to preventable morbidity and mortality in the U.S. and is distributed unevenly across sociodemographic groups. Using recent nationally representative data, the authors examined disparities in binge and heavy drinking among U.S. adults.

Data from the cross-sectional 2024 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (unweighted n=388,327 adults aged ≥18 years) were analyzed. Current binge drinking was defined as ≥5 drinks for men or ≥4 drinks for women on 1 occasion monthly, and heavy drinking was defined as >14 drinks and >7 drinks per week for men and women, respectively. Weighted logistic regression models were used to estimate the adjusted odds of binge and heavy drinking across sociodemographic factors. Analyses were conducted in 2025.

The weighted prevalence of binge and heavy drinking were 15.3% and 5.6%, respectively. Binge drinking was most common among younger adults, males, non-Hispanic Whites, and unmarried adults. Heavy drinking peaked among adults aged 35-44 years and those with some college education. The adjusted odds of binge drinking were lower for adults aged ≥65 years (AOR=0.24, 95% CI=0.22, 0.27) and non-Hispanic Asians (AOR=0.43, 95% CI=0.37, 0.50) and higher for never-married adults (AOR=1.13, 95% CI=1.07, 1.19). For heavy drinking, higher odds were observed for never-married adults (AOR=1.12, 95% CI=1.03, 1.22), those aged 35-44 years (AOR=1.24, 95% CI=1.08, 1.43), and individuals with some college education (AOR=1.24, 95% CI=1.08, 1.43) or a high-school diploma (AOR=1.10, 95% CI=1.02, 1.19).

Excessive alcohol use is distributed unequally across the U.S.

Identifying sociodemographic groups at the highest risk can guide targeted prevention, early intervention, and harm-reduction strategies.