A new report from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) found that more than 30 percent of Americans, at some time in their lives, have met the criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence. Most of these people never received any treatment, and those who did often didn’t get treatment for 10 years or more – 10 years of alcoholism that could have been avoided with early and effective alcohol detox and rehab.

This report refers to data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), which surveyed 43,000 U.S. adults. The researchers found that only 24 percent of those who met the criteria for alcohol dependence received any type of treatment, and just 7 percent of those who met the criteria for alcohol abuse received treatment. That’s a very disheartening statistic. And just as bad or even worse is the fact that most of those people surveyed developed alcohol problems in their early 20s but didn’t get treatment until their early 30s, if at all.

Think of the damage caused by that lost decade – lost families, lost jobs, lost lives – all for the lack of a few weeks or months of alcohol detox and rehab.

The survey had no answer for why so few people received treatment, or why it took so long for many of them to get it. However, other studies indicate that both those who provide treatment and those who receive it may have low expectations when it comes to results. Bridget Grant, Ph.D., the principal investigator in the NESARC, said statistics prove that treatment can significantly and substantially increase the likelihood of recovery, and that both professionals and the general public need to be educated on the signs of alcohol abuse and dependence.

If you or someone you care about has a problem with alcohol, don’t wait for 10 years to get help. A successful alcohol detox program followed by alcohol rehab if needed could prevent a lot of damage.