Does Alcohol Consumption Lead to Greater Health Services Utilization? (original) (raw)

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

Abstract

ABSTRACT While light or moderate alcohol use can improve cardiovascular health and protect against other diseases, heavy or abusive drinking negatively impacts health status in a variety or ways. It seems to follow that alcohol consumption would be related to health services utilization in a similar pattern, with heavy and abusive users requiring more health care than abstainers, and light/moderate drinkers needing the least care. Surprisingly, the literature shows conflicting relationships, perhaps because heavy and abusive drinkers are not seeking care for their health problems or the health benefits of light/moderate drinking make take years to emerge. The purpose of the study is to re-examine these relationships utilizing a recent and nationally representative dataset, and a variety of alcohol use and health care measures. The analysis used contemporary econometric methods to test for and correct the potential endogeneity of alcohol use in all equations. Failure to address endogeneity of alcohol use may have created estimation bias in some of the previous studies. After addressing endogeneity when appropriate, we found evidence that heavy and abusive alcohol consumers generally had more hospital stays and emergency room visits than other drinking groups and abstainers, although interesting differences across gender and age groups were identified.

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