The study is recruiting people 18 years and older and there is no cost to participate. Significant barriers and discrim-ination prevent some 3 million Americans from receiving treatment that could help them recover from drug and alcohol disease. Over the next two years, this initiative will increase the number of people assessed for alcohol and drug problems in hospitals and primary health care settings, thereby driving up the demand for treatment. Project strategies include publishing an addiction impact report to define the cost of addiction to Bexar County in terms of health care, criminal justice and diminished workplace productivity. The partnership also will develop a bilingual public awareness campaign to combat the stigma surrounding addiction.
Clinicians recognize two disorders related to alcohol use.
Alcohol abuse, a less severe clinical disorder, is a pattern of chronic alcohol misuse that causes life problems but stops short of physiological addiction and dependence. At some time during their lives, about 18 percent of Americans experience one or the other disorder. More than 50 percent of Americans have direct family experience with alcohol disorders. Alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence are caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Researchers recently identified chromosomal regions believed to contain genes that either increase or decrease the risk for alcohol dependence.