Alcohol Use and Hazardous Drinking among Medical Specialists

Abstract

Background: Alcohol use among medical specialists remains a delicate topic. However, the number of prevalence studies remains very limited in Western European countries. Aims: To explore alcohol use and hazardous drinking among male and female medical specialists. Methods: All medical specialists in Belgium – a typical Western European country regarding alcohol use – were invited to participate. Alcohol use and abuse were measured using the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) and the CAGE screen (acronym based on the four items it contains: ‘Cut down drinking’, ‘Annoyed by criticism’, ‘Guilty feelings’ and ‘Eye opener’). Results: A sample of 1,501 specialists completed the survey. The composition of the sample was comparable with that of the overall population of specialists in Belgium regarding gender, age and specialties. A proportion of 18% of the specialists could be classified as hazardous drinkers and 16.8% reported binge drinking at least once a month. Female medical specialists drank less than their male counterparts; however, a substantial proportion of female specialists (14.9%) displayed higher risk levels of hazardous drinking. Significant differences were found between specialties on the CAGE screen. Finally, younger medical specialists tended to display healthier alcohol use patterns compared with their older counterparts. Conclusion: Medical specialists tend to indulge in more hazardous drinking compared with the general population (10%). The alcohol use patterns of female doctors tend to move towards those of males.

Hazardous alcohol use among doctors in a Tertiary Health Center

“…[ 34 35 ] In this study, none of the females used alcohol hazardously; nevertheless, there was no significant relationship between hazardous alcohol use and gender. Similarly, other studies have reported a lower rate of hazardous/harmful drinking among female doctors[ 12 28 29 ] and other population. [ 30 ] The lower number of females with alcohol use and the absence of female gender reported with hazardous alcohol use in this study may have been influenced by culture and religion.…”

“…However, this is rather at variance with most findings in most Western countries. [ 3 6 26 27 28 ] For example, in a study by Rosta in Germany,[ 26 ] majority were moderate drinkers, only 9.5% were abstainers and with about 20% being hazardous drinkers similar to 18.5% reported by Joos et al [ 29 ] in Belgium. Nonetheless, the proportion of doctors who were risky drinkers is lower compared with what obtained in the general population and patient population in Nigeria.…”

GPs’ attitudes on a healthy lifestyle: a survey of GPs in Flanders

“…14 A Belgian survey of 1500 medical specialists of all kinds, 29 based on the research model, showed comparable results with respect to smoking prevalence (8%) and drinking habits (95%). Specialists were more likely to drink alcohol on a daily basis compared with GPs (20% versus 14%) and used anxiolytics more often (9% versus 5%).…”

Assessment of behavioral risk factors of medical workers at multidisciplinary hospital

“…It is medical workers -doctors in particular -who play the key role in popularizing knowledge on healthy lifestyle in our society. But in spite of that behavioral risk factors are widely spread among practical healthcare workers [1,2,3,10,11,12,13].…”