Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire). Supplement最新文献

Aims: We investigated the presence of social inequalities of alcohol use and misuse using educational attainment as an indicator of socio-economic status in 15 countries: Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Israel, Brazil, and Mexico.

Methods: Study surveys were independently conducted and the data centrally analysed. Most samples were national. Survey modes and sample sizes varied. The age range was restricted to between 25 and 59 years of age. Socio-economic status was measured by educational level. Multiple logistic regressions were employed to calculate age-adjusted odds ratios for men and women in each country by educational level for current drinking status, heavy drinking (>or=20 g ethanol per day for women, >or=30 g a day for men), heavy episodic (binge) drinking, and alcohol-related problems (using AUDIT).

Results: Men and women demonstrated similar patterns in inequalities with regard to current drinking status within a country. In Germany, The Netherlands, France, Switzerland, and Austria higher educated women were most likely to drink heavily, while among men the lower educated were more at risk in most countries. For heavy episodic drinking, almost no significant differences were evident among women, but for men a social gradient was observable with lower educated being more at risk in several countries. Among five countries with data from the AUDIT, men of lower education in Finland, Czech Republic, and Hungary had higher risks to report problems. Nordic countries shared a common pattern in social inequalities as did two Latin American countries, while a mixed picture was observed for middle European countries. Social inequalities in the two Latin American countries display a pattern emerging in other research on developing countries: namely that those in the higher educated groups are more likely to consume alcohol in a risky manner.

Conclusions: Patterns in the distribution of social inequalities are not universal. Social inequalities in alcohol use differ by gender according to alcohol measure used and differ also across groups of countries. These variations should be taken into account when formulating international and cross-cultural alcohol policies.

Aims: First, this paper investigates (i) gender differences in associations of social stratification, family roles, and heavy drinking, and (ii) country differences in these associations. Second, it seeks to explain country differences in the associations of social stratification and family roles with alcohol consumption by societal level variables.

Methods: Survey data of 25 to 49-years-old from eight European countries were used. Logistic regressions were used to analyse gender differences in the association between family roles (marriage, having children), social stratification (education, employment), and heavy drinking (>20 g/day for women; 30 g/day for men). Gender differences were tested by means of interactions between gender and social stratification/family roles. Structural measures of work desirability, social welfare, and gender equity were used to explain differences in associations across countries.

Results: The associations between social stratification, family roles, and heavy drinking varied across gender and countries. A country's social welfare system was associated with heavy drinking only among women. Women in countries with a strong social welfare system, such as Nordic countries, tended to drink more heavily if employed, having lower formal education, and a non-traditional family role. In countries with weak social welfare systems or work desirability, heavy drinking was associated with high education, while effects of family roles and employment were small.

Conclusions: It appeared that the social welfare system and gender equity of a country determines to a large extent how education, employment, and family roles are associated with heavy drinking.