Differences in the prevalence rates and correlates of alcohol use and binge alcohol use among five Asian American subpopulations

Background: This study (1) estimated the prevalence of alcohol and binge alcohol use among adult Asian Americans by sub-ethnicity; (2) examined alcohol drinking patterns among these subpopulations; and (3) investigated sub-ethnic differences in characteristics associated with alcohol and binge alcohol use. Method: Data from 8900 Asian Americans aged 18 or older who participated in the 2002-2008 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUHs) were analyzed. Descriptive analyses and multivariate logistic regression modeling were applied. Results: Korean Americans (51.8%) and Japanese Americans (49.7%) reported higher rates of past-month alcohol use than Chinese Americans (42.0%), Filipino Americans (37.9%), and Asian Indian Americans (34.0%). Korean Americans (24.6%) reported the highest rate of past-month binge alcohol use, followed by Filipino Americans (14.5%), Japanese Americans (14.2%), Asian Indian Americans (10.1%), and Chinese Americans (8.1%). Among these examined Asian Americans, foreign-born Chinese, Filipino, and Asian Indian Americans were less likely to have past-month alcohol use than their corresponding U.S. born counterparts; and only foreign-born Asian Indian Americans were less likely to have past-month binge alcohol use than their U.S. born counterparts. Males were 3-5 times more likely to have binge alcohol use than females among examined Asian American subpopulations except for Korean Americans. Korean Americans were more likely to have binge alcohol use than the other examined sub-ethnic Asian Americans. Conclusions: Adult Asian Americans are heterogeneous in sociodemographic characteristics and alcohol and binge alcohol use. These differences suggest the need for sub-ethnically specific prevention and treatment programs for alcohol use problems among Asian American subpopulations.