IGF::OT::IGF Meeting support services for the 2017 National Conference on Substance Abuse Among Women and Girls, September 22-23, 2017, Washington, D.C.

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract Background: Harmful drinking among women is increasing at an alarming rate. The 2012-2013 National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) III found that Alcohol Use Disorder affects about 14% of the U.S. population, including 10% of women. This represents a doubling of the prevalence of AUD among women since the completion of the 2001- 2002 NESARC I, when AUD was found to affect 5% of U.S. women. A 2009 analysis of data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) found a 30% increase in binge drinking among women 18 to 23 yrs. of age from 1979 ? 2006. (J Am Acad Child Adolscnt Psych; 7/09). In 2015 NIAAA staff published a follow-up analysis of NSDUH data, finding that binge drinking increased 12% among women > 21 yrs. from 2002-2012. (White, et al; ACER, 2015) The CDC reports binge drinking in 1 in 5 high school girls, and 1 in 8 women aged 18 yrs. and older, while 24% of women 18-24 yrs. engage in binge drinking. (CDC Vital Signs; 1/13) According to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in 2011 nearly one out of four DUI arrests in the United States involved a female driver, a dramatic increase since1980, when women made up less than one in ten DWI arrests nationwide. DUI arrests for women have increased 30% in just the past decade. One of the most serious potential outcomes of this striking increase in harmful drinking among women and girls is a significant increase in the incidence of unplanned and unsafe sex, and resulting increase in HIV transmission. Not only does alcohol consumption play an important role in the transmission of HIV, but there is growing eidence that it may play an important role in the progression of HIV disease among women and girls, including the occurrence and course of comorbid conditions such as HCV, oral and esophageal candidiasis and TB, and adverse outcomes in the areas of sexual risk behavior, pregnancy and birth, adherence to medications and provider advice, provider and patient attitudes towards treatment, and survival. In response to mounting evidence of dramatic increases in harmful drinking among women, the Women, Drinking, and Pregnancy Work Group of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (ICCFASD) proposes to convene a National Conference on Alcohol and Other Substance Use Among Women and Girls in October, 2017. The primary goal of the conference is to disseminate findings from the latest research on the intersection of harmful drinking among women, HIV infection, and adverse maternal-child health outcomes.