Trends in binge drinking in the United States by LGBTQ+ identity, gender, and age, 2014–2022

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundPeople who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer/questioning (LGBTQ+) have higher rates of risky drinking than their cisgender, heterosexual peers. It is unknown to what extent recent age and gender trends in binge drinking vary by LGBTQ+ identity.MethodsWe used nationally representative, serial, cross‐sectional surveys from men and women in the 2014–2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (N = 2,099,959) to examine trends in past‐month binge drinking by LGBTQ+ identity, gender, and age (18–29, 30–44, 45 and older). We estimated stratum‐specific prevalence ratios for an average 1‐year increase in prevalence of past‐month binge drinking using survey‐weighted log‐binomial models, controlling for education, race/ethnicity, marriage, and parenthood status.ResultsIn the beginning of the study period, LGBTQ+ women endorsed binge drinking at higher prevalences than their cisgender, heterosexual peers (i.e., 2014 predicted probability for women ages 30–44: 0.22 for LGBTQ+, 0.15 for cisgender, heterosexual). LGBTQ+ disparities in women's drinking attenuated over the study period among women in midlife (30–44 age group) due to increases in binge drinking among cisgender, heterosexual women (Prevalence Ratio [PR]: 1.025, 95% CI 1.018–1.033). Among men, we saw no evidence of LGBTQ+ disparities in binge drinking probabilities or in binge drinking trends across all age groups.ConclusionsDisparities in mid‐life binge drinking between LGBTQ+ and cisgender women have begun to diminish. These disparities are closing not because LGBTQ+ women are binge drinking less, but because cisgender, heterosexual women in midlife are binge drinking more.