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Alcohol drinking patterns in the adult population from the Maracaibo municipality, Zulia - Venezuela

Abstract:

Background and Objectives: Alcohol consumption is a widely distributed practice worldwide with several dosedependent effects on health. The magnitude of these consequences is modified by cultural and sociodemographic factors which shape behaviors towards this habit.Therefore, the objective was to determine patterns of alcohol drinking in our population.Materials and Methods: Descriptive, cross-sectional study with randomized, multi-staged sampling, which included 2,230 subjects of both genders. Monthly alcohol intake was interrogated, from which daily consumption was calculated in grams of alcohol and beverage volume equivalents. Habitual drinking was defined as >1 g/ day. Results were expressed in medians and interquartile ranges. Consumption patterns were classified by quartile distribution and conglomerates for each gender and beverage type, obtained through two-staged cluster analysis.Results: Daily alcohol intake is higher in males than in women, expressed in medians as follows: 28.4 g/day (9.5-47.3) vs 10.4 g/day (3.8-28.4); p=4.67x10-43. From the general population, 16.7% (n=196) of women and 45% (n=478) of men were habitual drinkers (χ2=220.185, p<0.001). Beer was the most frequent type of beverage in both genders (χ2=24.760, p=4.20x10-6). The largest percentage of habitual drinkers was in subjects aged 18-29 years: 37.2% (n=73) of females; and 36.1% (n=413) of males. Consumption categories were established for both genders through quartile distribution, for females: <3.79 g/day, 3.8-10.41 g/day, 10.42-28.40 g/day and ≥28.41 g/day; for males: <9.53 g/day, 9.54-28.40 g/day, 28.41- 47.33 g/day and ≥47.34 g/day.Conclusions: In our population, alcohol intake is greater in males and younger subjects. Distinct sociocultural characteristics render necessary the determination of population- specific consumption patterns.