Study links problem drinking, gambling

By KATHLEEN WEAVER
Reporter Contributor

Problem drinkers are 23 times more likely to have a gambling problem than individuals who do not have an alcohol problem, according to a study conducted at UB's Research Institute on Addictions.

The study of the co-occurrence of gambling and alcohol in the United States, based on random telephone interviews with 2,600 Americans 18 and older, indicates that between 1 and 2 percent of the American population has a compulsive gambling problem.

And the rate of problem (or pathological) gambling is significantly higher among minorities and lower-income individuals, according to John W. Welte, lead researcher on the study who is a senior scientist at RIA and a research associate professor in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

The results were published recently in the Journal of Studies of Alcohol.

Funding for the study was provided by a $1.2 million grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

"Pathological gambling is what we used to call compulsive gambling," Welte explained. "Using two different statistical methods, we have determined that compulsive gambling is higher than previously reported. In fact, between 1 and 2 percent of the population—one or two people in every 100—have a compulsive-gambling problem."

Welte and colleagues found that compulsive gamblers are much more likely to be alcoholic or alcohol-dependent than the average person.

"If you have an alcohol problem," Welte said, "the odds of also having a gambling problem are 23 times higher, compared to individuals who do not have an alcohol problem. That's a really huge odds ratio."

Welte said the difference in prevalence of pathological-gambling problems between Caucasian-, African- and Hispanic-Americans was found to be highly significant.

The rate among Caucasian-Americans, he said, was .5 percent. Among African-Americans, it was 3.7 percent and for Hispanic-Americans, 4.2 percent. In addition, pathological gambling was found to be greater among individuals with lower incomes.

"These trends have been found by other studies," according to Welte, "but they seem to be stronger in this study."