Harmful Use of Alcohol as Predictor of Presex Drinking in Mexican Young College Women

Background: The Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases set the target of an “at least 10% relative reduction in the harmful use of alcohol, as appropriate, within the national context”. This study investigated progress in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region towards this target based on two indicators: (a) alcohol per capita consumption (APC) and (b) the age-standardized prevalence of heavy episodic drinking (HED). Methods: Alcohol exposure data for the years 2010–2017 were based on country-validated data and statistical models. Results: Between 2010 and 2017, the reduction target for APC has been met with a decline by −12.4% (95% confidence interval (CI) −17.2, −7.0%) in the region. This progress differed greatly across the region with no decline for the EU-28 grouping (−2.4%; 95% CI −12.0, 7.8%) but large declines for the Eastern WHO EUR grouping (−26.2%; 95% CI −42.2, −8.1%). Little to no progress was made concerning HED, with an overall change of −1.7% (−13.7% to 10.2%) in the WHO European Region. Conclusions: The findings indicate a divergence in alcohol consumption reduction in Europe, with substantial progress in the Eastern part of the region and very modest or no progress in EU countries.

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Daily use of alcohol in the Norwegian general population: Prevalence and associated factors

Drugs and Alcohol Today ◽

10.1108/dat-02-2020-0010 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 109-121

Author(s):

Tore Bonsaksen ◽

Trond Heir ◽

Laila Skogstad ◽

Tine K. Grimholt ◽

Øivind Ekeberg ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Psychological Distress ◽

General Population ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Major Public Health Problem ◽

Content Type ◽

Personal Resource ◽

Harmful Use ◽

General Self Efficacy ◽

Harmful Use Of Alcohol

Purpose Harmful use of alcohol is a major public health problem. While harm is often researched in the context of heavy drinking episodes, high-frequency drinking, even when drinking moderate quantities, constitutes a health risk in a longer perspective. The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of daily use of alcohol in the Norwegian general population and to assess sociodemographic, mental health-related and personal resource variables associated with daily use of alcohol. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional survey concerned with health, illness and serious life events was distributed to 5,500 persons in the general population in Norway (response rate 36%). Sociodemographic variables, personal resource variables (general self-efficacy, optimism and extraversion) and psychological distress (current anxiety and/or depression) were assessed with regards to their associations with daily drinking in unadjusted and adjusted regression models. Findings Daily use of alcohol was reported by 39 persons (2.2%) in the sample (3.1% of men and 1.4% of women). While general self-efficacy, optimism and extraversion were unrelated to daily drinking, the adjusted model revealed that male sex (OR: 2.18, p < 0.05), being unemployed/not in education (OR: 3.10, p < 0.05) and reporting current anxiety and/or depression (OR: 3.12, p < 0.01) were associated with daily use of alcohol. Originality/value The study has contributed to the knowledge about daily drinkers in a representative sample of the Norwegian population. A proportion of 2.2% was found to drink alcohol on a daily basis. Compared to their counterparts, the odds of daily drinking were higher for men, unemployed persons and persons reporting current psychological distress. Public health initiatives aiming at reducing harmful use of alcohol may pay particular attention to these subsets of the population.

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