January 8, 2014
One major television network, several major US newspapers, and numerous online media sources cover a Vital Signs report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday showing that many Americans are drinking too much alcohol, even though they are not alcoholics, and that many of these individuals have never discussed their alcohol use with their physicians.
NBC Nightly News (1/7, story 8, 1:50, Williams) reported that the CDC has released a new report revealing that “many millions of Americans drink too much,” a problem rarely discussed with their physicians. NBC News chief medical Editor Nancy Snyderman, MD, explained, “At least 38 million people in the United States drink too much and most are not alcoholics.” Still, 75 percent of binge drinkers claim never to have had a discussion about their alcohol use with their physicians. CDC Director Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH, was shown saying that a brief interview with a physician “can result in a substantial reduction of problem drinking for a long period of time.”
USA Today (1/8, Painter) points out that the report, which is based on a 2011 “survey of 166,753 adults over age 18 from 44 states and the District of Columbia,” revealed that “just one in six adults said a health professional had ever discussed drinking with them.” The report found that “among those who admitted to binge drinking – having more than four drinks at a time for men or more than three drinks at a time for women – the rate was a bit higher, but still just one in four.”
Reuters (1/8, Beasley) quotes Dr. Frieden, who said that screening for excessive alcohol use “should be a part of routine patient care.”
According to the Boston Globe (1/8, Kotz) “Daily Dose” blog, Frieden recommended that “physicians should take five minutes during an office visit to ask patients about their drinking habits.” This means screening all adults, including expectant mothers.
The Syracuse (NY) Post-Standard (1/8, Mulder) reports that excessive drinking “causes about 88,000 deaths annually,” according to the CDC’s report. In addition, it can “lead to many health and social problems, including heart disease, breast cancer, sexually transmitted diseases, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, motor-vehicle crashes and violence, the report said.”
The Dallas Morning News (1/8, Jacobson) “The Scoop Blog” points out that “the Affordable Care Act requires new health insurance plans to cover this service without a co-payment.”
Also covering the story are the Augusta (GA) Chronicle (1/8, Corwin), the CBS News (1/8, Jaslow) website, the NBC News (1/8, Carroll) website, The Baltimore Sun (1/8, Cohn) “Picture of Health” blog, the NPR (1/8, Shute) “Shots” blog, the Time (1/8, Kuhr) “Swampland” blog, the Huffington Post (1/8), CQ (1/8, Reichard, Subscription Publication), HealthDay (1/8, Thompson) and the Fox News(1/8, Serrie) website. Medscape (1/8, Brauser) runs a featured commentary (1/8) on the subject with Dr. Frieden.
Article courtesy American Medical Association
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