Does the concept of a standard drink apply to viticultural societies?

Abstract

The use of standard drink units (SDUs) in the measurement of individual alcohol consumption has become widely popular in recent years. However, the ethanol content of drinks varies from country to country and is usually arrived at without scientific backing. The present study was designed to establish an SDU for a predominantly wine-drinking country (Spain). Two field studies were simultaneously conducted to gather data about home and public alcohol consumption in eight regions of the country with a total of 10751 subjects. The average alcohol content of a drink was very similar for wine and beer, whereas in the case of spirits it was almost double. Relevant differences were found across regions, drinking settings and city sizes. A Spanish SDU was set at 10 g of ethanol for wine and beer, with a measure of spirits accounting for two SDUs. The use of SDUs should be encouraged in primary health care settings. However, dispersion of data suggests that, when SDU is used as a screening tool, additional information should always be obtained in borderline cases.

Minor Interference of Cross-Reactive Carbohydrates with the Diagnosis of Respiratory Allergy in Standard Clinical Conditions

“…– Alcohol consumption, registered as the weekly number of drinking units (a glass of wine, a bottle of beer or a drink of spirits), approximately equivalent to 10 g of alcohol [25]. …”

Effectiveness of a Therapeutic Community Treatment in Spain: A Long-Term Follow-Up Study

“…The calculation of alcohol use was made using the 'Standard Drink Unit'. In Spain, the SDU is equivalent to 10 g of pure alcohol [10]. Average amount of alcohol consumed per week by subjects completing the treatment (3.36 units) was significantly lower than that of non-completers (5.45 units) (p !…”

Alcohol measurement methodology in epidemiology: recent advances and opportunities

“…Some studies have shown respondents pictures of containers and glasses with pour levels marked with letters rather than volume labels and asked them to find the closest matching vessel and pour level, or in faceto-face situations, to solicit responses using actual glassware with labeled pour levels [153]. Other strategies include having respondents pour a drink like their usual one into glasses provided to estimate their usual pour [162,163] or to have them attempt to pour a standard drink into provided glasses to gauge their ability to do so [164,165]. Finally, direct measurement of simulated usual drinks poured at home is the method that we believe is most accurate for use in any survey mode where respondents are contacted in their own home (and a large proportion of drinking is in home settings-not always the case).…”

“…To measure mixed drinks two strategies have been used. A Spanish study [162] determined popular drinks in each bar through observation of patrons and then worked with the bartender to measure each ingredient as an example of how each popular drink was made. One issue with this strategy is that the bartenders are aware of the measurement activity and may make the drink differently than they would otherwise.…”