In addition, compared with the oldest age group (i.e., age 50 and older), the odds of incident alcohol abuse and dependence after controlling for NESARC Wave 1 demographic and clinical characteristics were significantly higher among people ages 20–29, with ORs of 11.6 for alcohol abuse and 8.7 for alcohol dependence. The risk also was higher among respondents ages 30–54 compared with people age 55 and older (OR = 4.3 for alcohol abuse and OR = 3.5 for alcohol dependence) (Grant et al. 2009). Overall, in the NESARC, 1.2 percent of women and 4.8 percent of men age 50 and older were classified as having either current alcohol dependence or current alcohol abuse (Balsa et al. 2008). Similarly, in the 2005–2007 NSDUH, 1.9 percent and 2.3 percent of adults ages 50–64 endorsed dependence and abuse, respectively, as did 0.6 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively, of adults ages 65 and older (Blazer and Wu 2011).
