Alcohol Consumption Behavior and Adolescent and Adult Health and Mortality Outcomes in the United States

The purpose of this study is to comprehensively examine the association between alcohol consumption behavior and health and mortality risks in the United States. The three interconnected aims of this dissertation broaden the relationship between alcohol intake levels, health, and mortality risks to newer perspectives: 1) the 1984 Minimum Legal Drinking Age Act, cohort variation in alcohol use and mortality, 2) mortality among working-age women, and 3) adult health outcomes. Data from the National Health Interview Survey-Linked Mortality Files (2001 – 2015) and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (1995 – 2019) are used to explore these associations. Cox proportional hazard models, discrete-time hazard models, vector generalized linear models, and generalized linear models are used to estimate the impact of alcohol consumption on health and mortality risks. A major conclusion is that the 1984 MLDA significantly decreased moderate to heavy alcohol drinking among cohorts aged 16 – 20 after 1988 when all the states fully enacted the policy. Furthermore, participation in the labor force serves as a protective mechanism against increased mortality risks for women via alcohol consumption levels. Finally, physical and mental health outcomes in adulthood (age 32 – 42) are significantly affected by lifetime alcohol use disorder. The empirical findings reiterate the importance of studying alcohol as a major threat to adult health and mortality outcomes in the United States.