Alcohol abuse binge drinking

Alcohol Use, Binge Drinking, and Abuse and Dependence by Adults... 

Alcohol consumption is very difficult to assess. There is widespread belief that individuals underreport their intake and there are no reliable laboratory tests available for definitive diagnosis of alcohol abuse. A combination of abnormalities in the plasma activity of gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT or yGT), AST and reduction in erythrocyte mean cell volume (MCV) maybe useful and all are routine lab. tests. A potential marker of interest is carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) which is an abnormal isoform of serum transferrin arising due to defects in the attachment of carbohydrate chains to the protein core. Unfortunately, CDT is a somewhat specialized test, not performed by most laboratories. Other markers which have attracted some research interest are ethyl sulphate and ethyl glucuronide. Excretion in the urine of these metabolites occurs for up to 50 hours after binge drinking so they offer a useful index of recent heavy alcohol intake. 

Middle school and high school students consume about 1.1 billion cans of beer each year, i In one recent month, half of the 2.8 million high school students had had a drink, and in one two-week period, about 30 percent of high school seniors were binge drinkers, having five or more drinks at one sitting. Experts who are concerned about alcohol abuse say it is the number-one drug problem. 

Most adults use alcohol. Table 5.1 shows the 2004 National Household Survey of the percentages of adults age 18—25 and 26 and older who drink alcohol, binge drink (5 or more drinks at one sitting), or have an alcohol abuse or dependence disorder. ... 

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