Drinking patterns among US men and women: Racial and ethnic differences from adolescence to early midlife

Background Drinking patterns among young adult men and women in the United States have been understudied, especially among racial and ethnic groups such as Asian Americans and Hispanics. Because alcohol‐related racial and ethnic health disparities persist or increase in midlife, identifying peak ages of hazardous drinking could help to reduce disparities. Methods We used the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to examine: (1) past 12‐month heavy episodic drinking (HED) and total alcohol volume consumption among non‐Hispanic White (NHW), Black, Hispanic, and Asian men and women from ages 12 through 41, and (2) age‐varying associations of race and ethnicity with drinking. Hispanic and Asian ethnic groups were disaggregated by historical drinking patterns. Time‐varying effect models accounted for major demographic confounders. Results NHW men and women experienced elevated drinking rates in their early 20s, with a second elevation in their 30s. Black men and women did not have elevated drinking until their 30s. Among Hispanic men and women, peak drinking periods varied by gender and subgroup drinking pattern. Peak HED and total consumption emerged in the early 30s for Asian men, while peak HED occurred in the early 20s for Asian women. Drinking at certain ages for some racial and ethnic minoritized men and women did not differ from that in their NHW counterparts. Conclusions Age periods during which subgroups in the U.S. population experience elevated alcohol consumption vary by ethnicity and gender. Recognition of these group differences could enhance our understanding of intervention timing. Little is known about drinking patterns after young adulthood (ages 30+). This study used a US general population cohort of non‐Hispanic/Latinx White (NHW), Black, Hispanic/Latinx and Asian men and women to identify ages from 12‐41 when elevated heavy episodic drinking and total alcohol volume consumption occurred. There were ages of elevated drinking following young adulthood when some race and ethnicity subgroups were not different from their NHW counterparts. Findings highlight when subpopulations increase drinking to further understanding of intervention timing.