Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Alcohol use patterns in a Norwegian general population-based sample with special reference to socio-demographic variables

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Public Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Aim

The aim of this study was to analyse alcohol use patterns in a general population-based sample in Norway, with special reference to gender and socio-demographic variables.

Methods

The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was applied to measure alcohol use patterns and to identify hazardous alcohol use and negative consequences. AUDIT is a commonly used screening instrument in general population studies. A random sample was established of 4,000 Norwegian citizens, aged 18 to 79, which was drawn from the National Register held by Statistics Norway. The response rate in this study was 33%.

Results

The results show that males are more likely to consume more alcohol and to experience more drinking-related problems than females. More males (30.0%) than females (12.6%) were found in the hazardously alcohol consuming group (AUDIT total score ≥8). Furthermore, odds ratios for males were significantly higher than the oldest age group (age 66–79, reference category) compared to all other age groups, while for females, only the two youngest age categories (18–35 years) were found to be significantly higher than the reference category. Age was found to be a major factor (confounder), especially for females, in the relationships between alcohol drinking patterns, employment and marital status, level of education and density groups.

Conclusion

The results should be of interest both for health policy makers and health-care professionals in their planning of prevention and interventions concerning the hazardous and harmful alcohol consumption among the youngest age group.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ahnquist J, Lindström M, Wamala SP (2008) Institutional trust and alcohol consumption in Sweden: the Swedish National Public Health Survey 2006. BMC Publ Health 8:283

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allamani A, Voller F, Decarli A, Casotto V, Pantzer K, Anderson P, Gual A, Matrai S, Elekes Z, Eisenbach-Stangl I, Schmied G, Knibbe RA, Nordlund S, Skjaelaaen O, Olsson B, Cisneros Ornberg J, Osterberg E, Karlsson T, Plant M, Plant M, Miller P, Coghill N, Swiatkiewicz G, Wieczorek L, Annaheim B, Gmel G (2011) Contextual determinants of alcohol consumption changes and preventive alcohol policies: a 12-country European study in progress. Subst Use Misuse 46(10):1288–1303

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Armitage P, Berry G (1994) Statistical methods in medical research, 3rd edn. Blackwell, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Babor TF, Kranzler HR, Lauerman RJ (1989) Early detection of harmful alcohol consumption: comparison of clinical, laboratory, and self-report screening procedures. Addict Behav 14(2):139–157

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Babor TF, Higgins-Biddle JC, Saunders B, Monteiro MG (2001) AUDIT The alcohol use disorders identification test: guidelines for use in primary care, 2nd edn. WHO, Geneva

  • Bergman H, Kallmen H (2002) Alcohol use among Swedes and a psychometric evaluation of the alcohol use disorders identification test. Alcohol Alcohol 37(3):245–251

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bloomfield K, Gmel G, Wilsnack S (2006) Introduction to special issue “Gender, culture and alcohol problems: a multi-national study”. Alcohol Alcohol Suppl 41(1):i3–7

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Booth BM, Curran GM (2006) Variations in drinking patterns in the rural South: joint effects of race, gender, and rural residence. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 32(4):561–568

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Borders TF, Booth BM (2007) Rural, suburban, and urban variations in alcohol consumption in the United States: findings from the national epidemiologic survey on alcohol and related conditions. J Rural Health 23(4):314–321

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cerda M, Johnson-Lawrence VD, Galea S (2011) Lifetime income patterns and alcohol consumption: investigating the association between long- and short-term income trajectories and drinking. Soc Sci Med 73(8):1178–1185

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dalgard OS, Rognerud M, Strand BH (2002) Psykisk helse i Helse- og levekårsundersøkelsen i 1998 II. Geografiske forskjeller. Norsk Epidemiol 12(3):8

    Google Scholar 

  • Edwards P, Roberts I, Clarke M, DiGuiseppi C, Pratap S, Wentz R, Kwan I, Cooper R (2007) Methods to increase response rates to postal questionnaires. Methodol Rev. doi: 10.1002/14651858.MR000008.pub3

  • Galea S, Ahern J (2005) Distribution of education and population health: an ecological analysis of New York City neighborhoods. Am J Public Health 95(12):2198–2205

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Galea S, Tracy M (2007) Participation rates in epidemiologic studies. Ann Epidemiol 17(9):643–653

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Galobardes B, Shaw M, Lawlor DA, Lynch JW, Davey Smith G (2006) Indicators of socioeconomic position (part 1). J Epidemiol Community Health 60(1):7–12

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gmel G, Rehm J (2004) Measuring alcohol consumption. Contemp Drug Probl 31:467–540

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenfield SF, Brooks AJ, Gordon SM, Green CA, Kropp F, McHugh RK, Lincoln M, Hien D, Miele GM (2007) Substance abuse treatment entry, retention, and outcome in women: a review of the literature. 86(1):1–21

  • Hansen ABG, Hvidtfeldt UA, Gronbaek M, Becker U, Nielsen AS, Tolstrup JS (2011) The number of persons with alcohol problems in the Danish population. Scand J Public Health 39(2):128–136

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Huckle T, You RQ, Casswell S (2010) Socio-economic status predicts drinking patterns but not alcohol-related consequences independently. Addiction 105(7):1192–1202

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobsen BK (1989) Frequency of alcohol use and the level of education. J Intern Med 225(6):417–422

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Johansson E, Alho H, Kiiskinen U, Poikolainen K (2007) The association of alcohol dependency with employment probability: evidence from the population survey ‘Health 2000 in Finland’. Health Econ 16(7):739–754

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Knibbe RA, Derickx M, Kuntsche S, Grittner U, Bloomfield K (2006) A comparison of the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) in general population surveys in nine European countries. Alcohol Alcohol Suppl 41(1):i19–25

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kuendig H, Plant ML, Plant MA, Kuntsche S, Miller P, Gmel G, Ahlstrom S, Bergmark KH, Olafsdottir H, Elekes Z, Csemy L, Knibbe R (2008) Beyond drinking: differential effects of demographic and socioeconomic factors on alcohol-related adverse consequences across European countries. Eur Addict Res 14(3):150–160

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mäkelä P, Fonager K, Hibell B, Nordlund S, Sabroe S, Simpura J (2001) Episodic heavy drinking in four Nordic countries: a comparative survey. Addiction 96(11):1575–1588

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mäkelä P, Gmel G, Grittner U, Kuendig H, Kuntsche S, Bloomfield K, Room R (2006) Drinking patterns and their gender differences in Europe. Alcohol Alcohol Suppl 41(1):i8–18

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mathiesen EF, Nome S, Eisemann M, Richter J (2012) Drinking patterns, psychological distress and quality of life in a Norwegian general population-based sample. Qual Life Res. doi:10.1007/s11136-011-0080-8

  • Matzger H, Delucchi K, Weisner C, Ammon L (2004) Does marital status predict long-term drinking? Five-year observations of dependent and problem drinkers. J Stud Alcohol 65(2):255–265

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Power C, Rodgers B, Hope S (1999) Heavy alcohol consumption and marital status: disentangling the relationship in a national study of young adults. Addiction 94(10):1477–1487

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rehm J, Room R, van den Brink W, Jacobi F (2005) Alcohol use disorders in EU countries and Norway: an overview of the epidemiology. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 15(4):377–388

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reinert DF, Allen JP (2007) The alcohol use disorders identification test: an update of research findings. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 31(2):185–199

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Room R, Babor T, Rehm J (2005) Alcohol and public health. Lancet 365(9458):519–530

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Saarni SI, Joutsenniemi K, Koskinen S, Suvisaari J, Pirkola S, Sintonen H, Poikolainen K, Lonnqvist J (2008) Alcohol consumption, abstaining, health utility, and quality of life: a general population survey in Finland. 43(3):376–386

  • Saunders JB, Aasland OG, Babor TF, de la Fuente JR, Grant M (1993) Development of the alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT): WHO collaborative project on early detection of persons with harmful alcohol consumption–II. Addiction 88(6):791–804

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Selin KH (2003) Test-retest reliability of the alcohol use disorder identification test in a general population sample. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 27(9):1428–1435

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Selin KH (2006) Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT): what does it screen? Performance of the AUDIT against four different criteria in a Swedish population sample. Subst Use Misuse 41(14):1881–1899

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shevlin M, Smith GW (2007) The factor structure and concurrent validity of the alcohol use disorder identification test based on a nationally representative UK sample. Alcohol Alcohol 42(6):582–587

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Singleton N, Bumpstead R , O'Brien M , Lee A, Meltzer H (2003) Psychiatric morbidity among adults living in private households, 2000. Int Rev Psych 15(1–2): 65–73

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith GW, Shevlin M (2008) Patterns of alcohol consumption and related behaviour in Great Britain: a latent class analysis of the alcohol use disorder identification test (AUDIT). Alcohol Alcohol 43(5):590–594

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tuunanen M, Aalto M, Seppä K (2007) Binge drinking and its detection among middle-aged men using AUDIT, AUDIT-C and AUDIT-3. Drug Alcohol Rev 26(3):295–299

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Van Dijk AP, Toet J, Verdurmen JE (2004) The relationship between health-related quality of life and two measures of alcohol consumption. J Stud Alcohol 65(2):241–249

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vanderboom CP, Madigan EA (2007) Federal definitions of rurality and the impact on nursing research. Res Nurs Health 30(2):175–184

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wilsnack RW, Wilsnack SC, Kristjanson AF, Vogeltanz-Holm ND, Gmel G (2009) Gender and alcohol consumption: patterns from the multinational GENACIS project. Addiction 104(9):1487–1500

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization (2004) Global status report on alcohol. WHO, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Statistics Norway is acknowledged by providing their expertise and helpfulness due to this study. The financial support of Haukeland University Hospital for conducting the survey is also appreciated.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nursing, Bergen University College, P.O. Box 7030, 5020, Bergen, Norway

    E. F. Mathiesen

  2. Centre for Research and Education in Forensic Psychiatry, Haukeland University Hospital, P.O. Box 23 Sandviken, 5812, Bergen, Norway

    E. F. Mathiesen & S. Nome

  3. Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Eastern and Southern Norway, P.O. Box 4623 Nydalen, 0405, Oslo, Norway

    J. Richter

  4. Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Tromsø, 9037, Tromsø, Norway

    M. Eisemann

Authors
  1. E. F. Mathiesen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. S. Nome
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. J. Richter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. M. Eisemann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to E. F. Mathiesen.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Mathiesen, E.F., Nome, S., Richter, J. et al. Alcohol use patterns in a Norwegian general population-based sample with special reference to socio-demographic variables. J Public Health 21, 241–249 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-012-0541-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-012-0541-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation