Contribution of Drinking Patterns to Differences in Rates of Alcohol Related Problems Between Three Urban Populations

Overview

Journal J Epidemiol Community Health

Specialty Health Services

Date 2004 Feb 18

PMID 14966239

Citations 66

Authors

M Bobak

R Room

H Pikhart

R Kubinova

S Malyutina

A Pajak

S Kurilovitch

R Topor

Y Nikitin

M Marmot

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objectives: To examine, on empirical data, whether drinking patterns, in addition to overall alcohol consumption, contribute to differences in rates of alcohol related problems between populations.

Design: Cross sectional survey.

Settings: One Russian, one Polish, and one Czech city.

Participants: 1118 men and 1125 women randomly selected from population registers.

Main Outcome Measures: Problem drinking; negative social consequences of drinking; alcohol consumption and drinking pattern.

Results: Rates of problem drinking and of negative consequences of drinking were much higher in Russian men (35% and 18%, respectively) than in Czechs (19% and 10%) or Poles (14% and 8%). This contrasts with substantially lower mean annual intake of alcohol reported by Russian men (4.6 litres) than by Czech men (8.5 litres), and with low mean drinking frequency in Russia (67 drinking sessions per year, compared with 179 sessions among Czech men). However, Russians consumed the highest dose of alcohol per drinking session (means 71 g in Russians, 46 g in Czechs, and 45 g in Poles), and had the highest prevalence of binge drinking. In women, the levels of alcohol related problems and of drinking were low in all countries. In ecological and individual level analyses, indicators of binge drinking explained a substantial part of differences in rates of problem drinking and negative consequences of drinking between the three countries.

Conclusions: These empirical data confirm high levels of alcohol related problems in Russia despite low volume of drinking. The binge drinking pattern partly explains this paradoxical finding. Overall alcohol consumption does not suffice as an estimate of alcohol related problems at the population level.

Citing Articles

A multi-country analysis of informal caregiving due to others' drinking.

Jiang H, Laslett A, Kuntsche S, Callinan S, Waleewong O, Room R Drugs (Abingdon Engl). 2023; 29(6):702-711.

PMID: 36654831 PMC: 9844966. DOI: 10.1080/09687637.2021.1974342.

Repetitive binge-like consumption based on the Drinking-in-the-Dark model alters the microglial population in the mouse hippocampus.

Nelson J, Greengrove E, Nwachukwu K, Grifasi I, Marshall S J Integr Neurosci. 2022; 20(4):933-943.

PMID: 34997716 PMC: 8982053. DOI: 10.31083/j.jin2004094.

Cardiovascular risk factors, living and ageing in Halle: the CARLA study.

Hassan L, Efremov L, Grosskopf A, Kartschmit N, Medenwald D, Schott A Eur J Epidemiol. 2022; 37(1):103-116.

PMID: 34978665 PMC: 8791893. DOI: 10.1007/s10654-021-00824-7.

Alcohol consumption and associations with sociodemographic and health-related characteristics in Germany: A population survey.

Garnett C, Kastaun S, Brown J, Kotz D Addict Behav. 2021; 125:107159.

PMID: 34735981 PMC: 8642732. DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.107159.

Heavy Alcohol Use Among Women and Men Living With HIV in Uganda, Russia, and the United States.

Gnatienko N, Calver K, Sullivan M, Forman L, Heeren T, Blokhina E J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2021; 82(4):486-492.

PMID: 34343080 PMC: 8356791.

References

Rehm J, Greenfield T, Walsh G, Xie X, Robson L, Single E . Assessment methods for alcohol consumption, prevalence of high risk drinking and harm: a sensitivity analysis. Int J Epidemiol. 1999; 28(2):219-24. DOI: 10.1093/ije/28.2.219. View

Rehm J, Frick U, Bondy S . A reliability and validity analysis of an alcohol-related harm scale for surveys. J Stud Alcohol. 1999; 60(2):203-8. DOI: 10.15288/jsa.1999.60.203. View

Nemtsov A . Estimates of total alcohol consumption in Russia, 1980-1994. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2000; 58(1-2):133-42. DOI: 10.1016/s0376-8716(99)00069-1. View

Britton A, McKee M . The relation between alcohol and cardiovascular disease in Eastern Europe: explaining the paradox. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2000; 54(5):328-32. PMC: 1731674. DOI: 10.1136/jech.54.5.328. View

Rehm J, Greenfield T, Rogers J . Average volume of alcohol consumption, patterns of drinking, and all-cause mortality: results from the US National Alcohol Survey. Am J Epidemiol. 2001; 153(1):64-71. DOI: 10.1093/aje/153.1.64. View

Ramstedt M . Alcohol and suicide in 14 European countries. Addiction. 2001; 96 Suppl 1:S59-75. DOI: 10.1080/09652140020021189. View

Rossow I . Alcohol and homicide: a cross-cultural comparison of the relationship in 14 European countries. Addiction. 2001; 96 Suppl 1:S77-92. DOI: 10.1080/09652140020021198. View

Greenfield T . Ways of measuring drinking patterns and the difference they make: experience with graduated frequencies. J Subst Abuse. 2001; 12(1-2):33-49. DOI: 10.1016/s0899-3289(00)00039-0. View

Malyutina S, Bobak M, Kurilovitch S, Ryizova E, Nikitin Y, Marmot M . Alcohol consumption and binge drinking in Novosibirsk, Russia, 1985-95. Addiction. 2001; 96(7):987-95. DOI: 10.1046/j.1360-0443.2001.9679877.x. View

10.

Gmel G, Rehm J, Frick U . Methodological approaches to conducting pooled cross-sectional time series analysis: the example of the association between all-cause mortality and per capita alcohol consumption for men in 15 European states. Eur Addict Res. 2001; 7(3):128-37. DOI: 10.1159/000050730. View

11.

Rehm J, Monteiro M, Room R, Gmel G, Jernigan D, Frick U . Steps towards constructing a global comparative risk analysis for alcohol consumption: determining indicators and empirical weights for patterns of drinking, deciding about theoretical minimum, and dealing with different consequences. Eur Addict Res. 2001; 7(3):138-47. DOI: 10.1159/000050731. View

12.

Murray R, Connett J, Tyas S, Bond R, Ekuma O, Silversides C . Alcohol volume, drinking pattern, and cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality: is there a U-shaped function?. Am J Epidemiol. 2002; 155(3):242-8. DOI: 10.1093/aje/155.3.242. View

13.

Malyutina S, Bobak M, Kurilovitch S, Gafarov V, Simonova G, Nikitin Y . Relation between heavy and binge drinking and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in Novosibirsk, Russia: a prospective cohort study. Lancet. 2002; 360(9344):1448-54. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(02)11470-X. View

14.

Nemtsov A . Alcohol consumption level in Russia: a viewpoint on monitoring health conditions in the Russian Federation (RLMS). Addiction. 2003; 98(3):369-70. DOI: 10.1046/j.1360-0443.2003.00322.x. View

15.

KNUPFER G . Some methodological problems in the epidemiology of alcoholic beverage usage: definition of amount of intake. Am J Public Health Nations Health. 1966; 56(2):237-42. PMC: 1256860. DOI: 10.2105/ajph.56.2.237. View

16.

Poikolainen K . Drug poisoning mortality trends in the Scandinavian countries 1961--1973. Scand J Soc Med. 1977; 5(3):115-21. DOI: 10.1177/140349487700500302. View

17.

Ewing J . Detecting alcoholism. The CAGE questionnaire. JAMA. 1984; 252(14):1905-7. DOI: 10.1001/jama.252.14.1905. View

18.

Midanik L . Validity of self-reported alcohol use: a literature review and assessment. Br J Addict. 1988; 83(9):1019-30. DOI: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1988.tb00526.x. View

19.

Room R, Bondy S, Ferris J . The risk of harm to oneself from drinking, Canada 1989. Addiction. 1995; 90(4):499-513. DOI: 10.1046/j.1360-0443.1995.9044994.x. View

20.

Wechsler H, Austin S . Binge drinking: the five/four measure. J Stud Alcohol. 1998; 59(1):122-4. DOI: 10.15288/jsa.1998.59.122. View