7.5 million U.S. kids live with alcoholic

ROCKVILLE, Md., Feb. 16 (UPI) -- About 7.5 million U.S. children age 18 and under lived with a parent who has experienced an alcohol use disorder in the past year, health officials said.

The report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration said 6.1 million of those children live with two parents, with either one or both parents experiencing an alcohol use disorder in the past year.

The remaining 1.4 million of the children live in a single-parent house with a parent who has experienced an alcohol use disorder in the past year, and of this group, 1.1 million lived in a single-mother household 300,000 lived in a single-father household.

"The enormity of this public health problem goes well beyond these tragic numbers as studies have shown that the children of parents with untreated alcohol disorders are at far greater risk for developing alcohol and other problems later in their lives," Pamela S. Hyde, administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, said in a statement. "SAMHSA and others are promoting programs that can help those with alcohol disorders find recovery -- not only for themselves, but for the sake of their children."

The report is based on data analyzed from SAMHSA's 2005 to 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health -- a scientifically conducted nationwide annual survey of approximately 67,500 people age 12 and older.