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Prevalence of alcohol use disorders and associated factors: a population‐based study using AUDIT in southern Brazil
Author(s) -
MendozaSassi Raúl A.,
Béria Jorge U.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0965-2140
DOI - 10.1046/j.1360-0443.2003.00411.x
Subject(s) - alcohol use disorders identification test , medicine , odds ratio , alcohol use disorder , logistic regression , confidence interval , demography , population , cross sectional study , socioeconomic status , environmental health , alcohol , poison control , injury prevention , biochemistry , chemistry , pathology , sociology
Aims To assess the prevalence of potential alcohol use disorders and associated factors using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Design Cross‐sectional study. Setting A town in southern Brazil. Participants A representative sample of 1260 people aged 15 and over. Measurements Demographic, socioeconomic, smoking habit and mental health data were collected. Logistic regression was used in the multivariate analysis, and odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Findings Overall prevalence of alcohol use disorder was 7.9%, with 14.5% prevalence among men and 2.4% among women. The risk of alcohol misuse increased across social class ( P linear trend = 0.03) and compared with the highest classes (A and B), groups C through E had ORs of 1.48, 1.51 and 2.36, respectively. Males had an OR of 6.89 (CI 3.61–13.16) compared with women. A linear trend was found ( P = 0.001) between smoking categories, and smokers (OR 3.27; CI 1.91–5.58) and ex‐smokers (OR 1.30; CI 0.56–2.98) were at higher risk than non‐smokers. Those with minor psychiatric disorders had a 2.48 OR (CI 1.35–4.56) of presenting a positive test. Conclusions The AUDIT detected a high prevalence of potential alcohol use disorders in the population sampled. Those identified are potential targets for preventive measures implemented through health policies.