Treatment for alcohol problems was uncommon among individuals with two or more (2.5%) or with three or more AUD symptoms (3.8%). Among individuals with two or more symptoms, 32.9% of men and 50.3% of women were in remission (gender difference significant at p<0.001); for men and women with three or more symptoms, rates of remission were 28.3% and 43.3% respectively (p<0.001). Individuals who were remitted from AUD had lower rates of lifetime DSM-IV alcohol dependence, a shorter duration of AUD, and more periods of abstinence than individuals with current symptoms (Table 2). The change in drinking pattern from the 12-month period of heaviest drinking to current drinking was greater for remitted than non-remitted individuals (Fig. 1). The proportion of individuals drinking two or more days a week, for example, decreased to a greater extent among remitted (from 75.1% to 32.4%) than non-remitted individuals (from 83.2% to 64.1%). Similarly, the proportions drinking five or more drinks per occasion dropped more for remitted than non-remitted individuals. Only 6.9% of remitted individuals reported abstinence in the past year (four non-abstinent individuals also reported abstinence, probably because of the strict age requirement for remission of at least 1 year prior to current age).
