Citation

Soler-Vila H, Galan I, Donado-Campos J, Sánchez-Alfonso F, Valencia-Martín JL, Morilla F, León-Muñoz LM, Rodriguez-Artalejo F. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2014; 140: 123-129.

Affiliation

Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid/IdiPAZ, C/Arzobispo Morcillo s/n, Madrid 28029, Spain; CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Melchor Fernández Almagro, 3-5, Madrid 28029, Spain. Electronic address: fernando.artalejo@uam.es.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.04.006

PMID

24799288

Abstract

BACKGROUND: This study examined changes in alcohol drinking patterns (DP) and associated variables in a Mediterranean country.

METHODS: Changes in DP between baseline (2008-2010) and follow-up (2012-2013) were examined on a Spanish population-based cohort of 2254 adults (18-59 years) using multinomial logistic regression. Heavy consumption was defined as ≥40g/day of alcohol in men (≥24g/day in women) and binge drinking (BD) as the intake of ≥80g of alcohol in men (≥60g in women) on one occasion in the previous month. Six patterns were defined: (1) non-drinkers; (2) ex-drinkers; (3) moderate drinkers without BD (MNB); (4) moderate drinkers with BD (MB); (5) heavy drinkers without BD (HNB); and (6) heavy drinkers with BD (HB).

RESULTS: Overall, 45.2% of participants changed DP during follow-up. Over 24% of non-drinkers and 19.4% of ex-drinkers at baseline qualified as MNB at follow-up. The largest flow was from HNB to MNB (57.1%). Light-drinking patterns experienced the largest gains (ex-drinkers: 37.5% and MNB: 66.7%) by absorbing individuals lost by heavy-drinking patterns (MB: 50.8% and HNB: 48.4%). Men, younger individuals, and current smokers were more likely to report heavy-drinking patterns at one or both assessments. Being married or employed increased the likelihood of reporting light-drinking patterns at both surveys (p<0.05). Improving physical quality of life and exercise were associated with a shift from light- to heavy-drinking pattern during follow-up (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: DP in Spain changed over 3 years with a tendency to "regress" toward moderate patterns. Repeated measures of alcohol intake may reduce classification errors and biased results when examining the impact of alcohol on health.

Language: en