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alcohol, let’s use this month as a platform to get educated and share the facts.

Facts and Figures

In an effort to highlight the importance of bringing awareness to the dangers of alcohol, it is necessary that we fully
understand just how important it is to start getting involved and look at the facts. Get the answers to some of the
questions you may have been asking but are afraid to ask.

How many people use alcohol in the United States? The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
reports that according to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), the prevalence of drinking in the
United States was 86 percent of people ages 18 or older reported that they drank alcohol at some point in their lifetime;
70 percent reported that they drank in the past year; and 56 percent reported that they drank in the past month. Based
on these numbers it is safe to say the overall use of alcohol across the country is very high. Since such a great number
of us have reported that we engage in the use and consumption of alcohol, it should be our duty to get involved.

How about the numbers related to Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) in the United States? According to the same study, 15.1
million adults ages 18 and older had AUD (9.8 million were men and 5.3 million were women). Only about 1.3 million
adults received treatment for AUD at a specialized facility in 2015 (898,000 were men and 417,000 were women) – only
1.3 million of the 15.1 million? This means only about 8.3% of adults with AUD sought treatment. These numbers alone
highlight the need for awareness.

Let’s not forget about the youth population. If you haven’t realized yet, these numbers clearly indicate there is a need to
educate our youth in alcohol awareness. According to the 2015 NSDUH study of youths ages 12 to 17, an estimated
623,000 adolescents, had AUD (298,000 were males and 325,000 females).

Nearly 90,000 people die every year from alcohol-related deaths. These numbers may seem shocking, but using Alcohol
Awareness month to bring attention to this may just save a life (or lives)! And it will absolutely cause those who listen to
analyze their own drinking habits and hopefully seek help.

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is generally defined as “a pattern of alcohol use that involves problems controlling your
drinking, being preoccupied with alcohol, continuing to use alcohol even when it causes problems, having to drink more
to get the same effect, or having withdrawal symptoms when you rapidly decrease or stop drinking.” AUD is a medical
diagnosis which is given to individuals when problem drinking becomes severe – in other words, individuals diagnosed
with AUD must meet certain criteria which is outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (more
specifically, anyone meeting just two of the 11 criteria in a period of one year receives a diagnosis of AUD). Does this
have your inner wheels spinning? What are the criteria? Does this concern you? It should.

How can Alcohol Awareness Month make a difference?

We can use this month to raise awareness about alcohol abuse and take action to prevent it, both at home and in the
community.

Here are just a few ideas:

 Encourage friends or family members to make small changes, like keeping track of their drinking and setting
drinking limits.
 Share tips with parents to help them talk with their kids about the risks of alcohol use.
 Ask doctors and nurses to talk to their patients about the benefits of drinking less or quitting.

We have a sandwich seminar on the third Tuesday of each month. The next seminar is April 17. Bayfront Health will
feature General Surgeon, Alvaro Miguel Bada, M.D.

Parathyroid Disease:

From Symptoms to Treatments about one in 100 people (one out of 50 women over the age of 50) develop a parathyroid
gland tumor during their lifetime causing parathyroid disease. Are you at risk?

We have a new luncheon seminar that is sponsored by Dr. T. Janz. He will have a women’s wellness luncheon seminar
on Friday April 20 from 11:30 to 1:30. The speaker will be Heather Auld, MD board certified Obstetrics and Gynecology
and Integrative Medicine. Please call 941-505-6033 to register for this informative seminar.

If you have questions, there will be time to get some answers. Please call the PGICA office at 941-637-1655 to register
for this free event.

“If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun” Katherine Hepburn

31 www.pgica.org