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Alcohol consumption and binge drinking in young adult childhood cancer survivors
Author(s) -
Rebholz Cornelia E.,
Kuehni Claudia E.,
Strippoli MariePierre F.,
Rueegg Corina S.,
Michel Gisela,
Hengartner Heinz,
Bergstraesser Eva,
von der Weid Nicolas X.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
pediatric blood and cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.116
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1545-5017
pISSN - 1545-5009
DOI - 10.1002/pbc.23289
Subject(s) - medicine , binge drinking , alcohol consumption , childhood cancer , young adult , consumption (sociology) , environmental health , cancer , alcohol , psychiatry , gerontology , human factors and ergonomics , poison control , sociology , social science , biochemistry , chemistry
Background This study compared frequency of alcohol consumption and binge drinking between young adult childhood cancer survivors and the general population in Switzerland, and assessed its socio‐demographic and clinical determinants. Procedure Childhood cancer survivors aged <16 years when diagnosed 1976–2003, who had survived >5 years and were currently aged 20–40 years received a postal questionnaire. Reported frequency of alcohol use and of binge drinking were compared to the Swiss Health Survey, a representative general population survey. Determinants of frequent alcohol consumption and binge drinking were assessed in a multivariable logistic regression. Results Of 1,697 eligible survivors, 1,447 could be contacted and 1,049 (73%) responded. Survivors reported more often than controls to consume alcohol frequently (OR = 1.7; 95%CI = 1.3–2.1) and to engage in binge drinking (OR = 2.9; 95%CI = 2.3–3.8). Peak frequency of binge drinking in males occurred at age 24–26 years in survivors, compared to age 18–20 in the general population. Socio‐demographic factors (male gender, high educational attainment, French and Italian speaking, and migration background from Northern European countries) were most strongly associated with alcohol consumption patterns among both survivors and controls. Conclusions The high frequency of alcohol consumption found in this study is a matter of concern. Our data suggest that survivors should be better informed on the health effects of alcohol consumption during routine follow‐up, and that such counseling should be included in clinical guidelines. Future research should study motives of alcohol consumption among survivors to allow development of targeted health interventions for this vulnerable group. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2012; 58: 256–264. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.