Four out of 10 Italian adults declare that they do not consume alcoholic beverages, but 1 in 6 (18%) consume them at greater risk to their health, due to the quantity or method of consumption: 9.6% of adults for binge drinking (consumption excessive episodic, corresponding to 5 or more alcohol units on a single occasion for men and 4 or more for women), 10% for alcohol consumption exclusively or mainly between meals and 2% for high habitual consumption (3 or more units of alcohol per day for men and 2 or more for women). Among those over 65, 6 out of 10 say they do not consume alcohol regularly, but 2 out of 10 report moderate consumption and a slightly lower percentage, 17%, are at risk. These are some of the main data published on the Epicentro website of the Higher Institute of Health that emerge from the new Passi and Passi d’argento surveillance dataset, relating to the adult population (18-69 years) and the elderly population (over 65 years).
In the two-year period 2022-23, 63 thousand and 30 thousand people were interviewed respectively. Man, young and very young, not in financial difficulty and with a high level of education, mostly resident in Northern Italy: this is the identikit of the adult consumer at greatest risk, even if there is no lack of alarm elements for consumption among the young women. Since 2010, there has been a progressive increase in higher-risk drinking among men and a gradual and slow reduction in binge drinking; among women, however, the highest risk alcohol consumption seems stable, but the component of binge-type consumption is increasing and although among women it remains significantly lower than that of men, the gender differences are decreasing.
Among the over 65s there is a trend of more frequent risky consumption among men, which decreases with advancing age and remains the prerogative of the more socially advantaged classes. The attention of health professionals to the problem of alcohol abuse still appears to be too low: just 7% of consumers at “greater risk” report having received advice to drink less.
The highest risk consumption is more frequent among young people and especially the very young (among 18-24 year olds the share is close to 36%), always proving to be approximately 3 times greater than what is observed among the more mature generations of 50-69 year olds . Among those over 35, it increases thanks to the growth in the binge drinking component, which has started to be practiced again after a decline linked to the pandemic emergency. Binge drinking as well as alcohol consumption between meals are the prerogatives of the younger and more socially advantaged, while high habitual consumption is characteristic of less young and more socially disadvantaged people.
The highest risk alcohol consumption remains a prerogative of residents in Northern Italy (with an increasing trend) in particular in Valle d’Aosta and the PA of Bolzano, followed, among the northern regions, by the PA of Trento, Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia. Among the Southern Regions, Molise has the percentage of alcohol consumers at greatest risk that is higher than the national average and comparable to that of the Bolzano PA. Binge consumption is also more widespread in northern Italy, where there has also been a significant increase since 2010, and in particular in the North East, but Molise and Sardinia stand out negatively among the southern regions.
Finally, what worries experts is the number of people who drink alcohol despite having an absolute contraindication, such as patients with liver diseases, among whom only just under half, 49%, declare having consumed alcohol in the previous 30 days the interview. 10% of pregnant women report having consumed alcohol in the 30 days prior to the interview and among women who are breastfeeding the share increases to 27%.
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