Though eliminating the abuse/dependence distinction may address some concerns regarding the abuse category, this “lumping” may result in additional problems. Given this paper raises concerns regarding the current estimates of AUD prevalence, the strategy of maintaining comparability of AUD prevalence between DSM-IV and DSM-V may be misguided. Additionally, the finding that the sole endorsement of hazardous use represents a substantial percentage of those individuals that meet diagnosis for lifetime AUD (i.e., approximately 38% in NESARC) also has disturbing implications. Specifically, these findings suggest a substantial portion of individuals may meet diagnosis for an AUD under proposed DSM-V criteria by endorsing hazardous use and one additional item. Therefore, the currently proposed DSM-V AUD category (American Psychiatric Association, 2010) may largely be represented by hazardous use related to alcohol (Martin, Steinley, Vergés, & Sher, 2010). This is especially concerning, given that the hazardous use criterion (which is largely represented by driving while intoxicated) appears to be influenced by gender, age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and cultural factors (Babor & Caetano, 2008; Kahler & Strong, 2006; Keyes & Hasin, 2008; Martin, Chung, Kirisci, &
