Estimating Alcoholic Prevalence

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Abstract
Alternative methods for estimating the prevalence of alcoholism and alcohol problems are reviewed and evaluated. No standard method has emerged to fill the void left by the Jellinek formula, now generally recognized as invalid. Currently viable methods include techniques based on alcohol mortality data, alcohol consumption data, data from general population surveys, and data on clients in treatment. Different methods contain implicit and differing definitions of alcoholic populations, and the choice between alternative techniques may depend on the purposes of prevalence estimation. The disaggregate nature of societal problems with alcohol suggests that a single number may not capture the totality. However, for the practical applications of estimating need for treatment services and for monitoring the level of alcohol problems and alcoholism across local areas and across time, projections based on per capita consumption offer the most useful and valid figures.

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