It is assumed that men drink more alcohol than alcohol, but a new study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has revealed that women are closing the gender drinking gap by drinking alcohol more like men.

Lead researcher Aaron White and researchers at NIAAA analyzed data from national surveys conducted from 2002 to 2012. According to White, “We found that over that period of time, differences in measures such as current drinking, number of drinking days per month, reaching criteria for an alcohol use disorder, and driving under the influence of alcohol in the past year, all narrowed for females and males”.

Women's drinking rate catching up to men's drinking rate doesn’t mean men are consuming less alcohol. They still drink more alcohol, but women have started to consume more, White added.

George F. Koob, director of NIAAA, said the new study has proved that some recent reports suggesting change in alcohol pattern among men and women in the US were right. Koob also said this change in women’s drinking habit is suggesting they are at greater risk than men to develop drinking-related health issues.

The researchers led by White found that the percentage for female drinkers has increased to 48.3% from 44.9%. For men, the percentage decreased to 56.1% from 57.4% from 2002 and 2012. They said it is not clear what is behind the converging patterns of alcohol use.