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Quantity‐frequency measures of alcohol consumption: beverage‐specific vs global questions
Author(s) -
RUSSELL MARCIA,
WELTE JOHN W.,
BARNES GRACE M.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
british journal of addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0952-0481
DOI - 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1991.tb03418.x
Subject(s) - confidence interval , alcohol consumption , consumption (sociology) , alcohol , national health and nutrition examination survey , environmental health , population , demography , statistics , medicine , mathematics , biology , social science , biochemistry , sociology
Estimates of alcohol consumption (ounces of absolute alcohol per day, AA) based on beverage‐specific and global quantity‐frequency (QF) questions were compared in a survey representative of the adult drinking population in New York State. Beverage‐specific AA estimates were higher than global (0.72, 95% confidence intervals=0.68, 0.76) compared to 0.49 (95% confidence intervals=0.47, 0.51), although estimates were highly correlated (r= 0.75). Discrepancies between beverage specific and global AA estimates increased as the number of beverages and the amount drunk increased. Sociodemographic characteristics were not significantly related to differences between beverage‐specific and global AA estimates after adjusting for the amount drunk; however, drinking patterns did influence the differences. It was concluded that beverage‐specific QF questions are probably more valid measures of alcohol consumption than global QF questions, but that the global questions provide useful information. Parallel analyses of variant global QF questions employed in the first US Health and Nutrition Examination Survey obtained similar results.