NEW YORK The overall consumption of alcohol is declining among Americans, new research suggests. However, there does not appear to be any significant decline in alcohol-related disorders.

The findings were derived from the drinking habits of 8600 participants in the Framingham Heart Study, a multigenerational study of risk factors for heart disease and other chronic diseases that began in 1948.

In addition to an overall decline in drinking, Dr. Yuqing Zhang of Boston University School of Medicine, and colleagues found that Americans are drinking significantly less beer and more wine, while intake of hard liquor has remained largely unchanged.

The results also show that younger people (born later in the 20th century) drink more moderately than older people and that alcohol consumption tends to decline as people age. The number of people describing themselves as non-drinkers also increased markedly with age, according to the researchers.

In the latest issue of The American Journal of Medicine, Zhang and colleagues say the findings 'may be considered encouraging in many ways.' The average alcohol consumption has decreased among individuals born more recently; the percentage of the population exhibiting 'moderate drinking' has increased steadily; and the percentage of 'heavy drinkers' has decreased over time."

'While these data suggest the development of more favorable patterns of alcohol consumption over the latter part of the 20th century, they also show that, at the same time, the cumulative incidence of alcohol use disorders has not shown a decrease, and continuing efforts at preventing them are warranted,' they emphasize.