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Abstract
Background: Prior research has documented a counterintuitive positive association between physical activity and indices of alcohol consumption frequency and heaviness. Objectives: To investigate whether this relation extends to alcohol use disorder and clarify whether this association is non-linear. Methods: This is a cross-sectional, correlational population-based study of US adults (N = 34,653). The Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule was used to classify past-year DSM-IV alcohol use disorder and self-reported federal government-recommended weekly physical activity cutoffs. Results: After statistically controlling for confounds, alcohol abuse but not dependence was associated with greater prevalence of physical activity. Number of alcohol use disorder symptoms exhibited a curvilinear relationship with meeting physical activity requirements, such that the positive association degraded with high symptom counts. Conclusion: There is a positive association between physical activity and less severe forms of alcohol use disorder in US adults. More severe forms of alcohol use disorder are not associated with physical activity.