# Improving Models of Alcohol Consumption Mismeasurement and Burden of Disease

> **NIH NIH R01** · RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE · 2021 · $258,390

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Alcohol is a contributing factor for a number of diseases, including many cancers, and evidence suggests
that there are substantial medical and economic costs associated with alcohol-attributable disease
incidence. However, the current evidence base suffers from two weaknesses. First, estimating alcohol-
attributable disease incidence requires accurate measurements of the prevalence of alcohol exposures, and
the surveillance data sources researchers use to measure the prevalence of alcohol exposures are likely
error prone. Second, most studies that estimate alcohol-attributable disease incidence and corresponding
medical and economic costs focus on the incident cases and costs that could be avoided if no one in the
population consumed alcohol, which is an unreasonable alcohol reduction target.
This study will address these two weaknesses by first developing a new, Bayesian approach for estimating
the prevalence of alcohol exposures from self-report survey data and then applying this approach to a novel
study of the potential impacts on burden of illness and corresponding economic costs that could occur if
modest reductions in alcohol use were achieved across different subgroups (e.g., based on drinking
frequencies and demographics). Thus, this study will produce valuable methodological advances and new
evidence that will better inform how best to adopt public health strategies for reducing the burden and cost of
illness associated with alcohol use.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10245253
- **Project number:** 5R01AA027796-03
- **Recipient organization:** RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE
- **Principal Investigator:** Arnie Paul Aldridge
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $258,390
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-05 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10245253

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10245253, Improving Models of Alcohol Consumption Mismeasurement and Burden of Disease (5R01AA027796-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10245253. Licensed CC0.

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