Factors associated with alcohol consumption patterns in a Puerto Rican urban cohort

Abstract

Objective There is little research on factors associated with alcohol consumption among Puerto Ricans living in the USA; thus the aim of the present study was to examine alcohol intake patterns, and factors associated with drinking categories, in a cohort of Puerto Rican adults in Massachusetts. Design Cross-sectional study. Descriptive and polytomous logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with drinking patterns, stratified by gender. Setting Greater Boston area, MA, USA. Subjects Puerto Rican adults (n 1292), aged 45–75 years. Results Eight per cent of men and 39 % of women were lifetime abstainers; 40 % of men and 25 % of women were former drinkers; 31 % of men and 27 % of women were moderate drinkers; and 21 % of men and 8 % of women were heavy drinkers. Thirty-five per cent of participants reported drinking alcohol while taking medications with alcohol contraindications. After multivariable adjustment, young men were less likely than older men to be moderate drinkers. Among women, higher BMI, age, lower income and lower psychological acculturation were associated with abstention; age and lower perceived emotional support were associated with increased likelihood of former drinking; and women without v. with diabetes were more likely to be heavy drinkers. Conclusions High prevalence of chronic disease, heavy drinking and alcohol use while taking medications with alcohol contraindications suggest an urgent need for better screening and interventions tailored to this rapidly growing Hispanic national subgroup. As heavy drinking appears to increase with acculturation for women, public health initiatives are needed to support appropriate alcohol use.

The Association Between Health Changes and Cessation of Alcohol Consumption

“…Other studies have reported that poor self-reported health is positively associated with former drinking ( Chan et al ., 2015 ), and former drinkers had a higher prevalence of poor health among abstainers, former drinkers and current drinkers ( Liang and Chikritzhs, 2013 ). However, in Andrews-Chavez et al ’s (2015) study, fair/poor perceived health status was more prevalent in former drinkers (58%) than in moderate drinkers (55%), but lower than in lifetime abstainers (83%). Similarly, in this study, prevalence of poor perceived health was greatest in abstainers, and the difference between abstainers and former drinkers was not significant.…”

“…Previous studies assessing risk among former drinkers have also shown conflicting results. Although some studies have reported high risk among former drinkers ( Lazarus et al ., 1991 ; Liang and Chikritzhs, 2013 ; Chan et al ., 2015 ), others have shown a lower risk for former drinkers than for abstainers ( Andrews-Chavez et al ., 2015 ). To confirm the sick quitter effect, both investigation of the relationship between health status changes and quitting alcohol drinking and assessment of the risk to former drinkers are needed.…”

Scoping review of assessment tools for, magnitudes of and factors associated with problem drinking in population-based studies

“…Nine studies from HICs (eg, Ireland37 and Switzerland38) and four studies from LMICs applied RSOD criteria. Among HICs, a survey in the US used National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) guidelines and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) definitions for BD 39 40…”

Association between sociodemographic factors and alcohol consumption in rural women

“…Diante disso, pode-se sugerir que as mulheres desse estudo apresentam média de consumo de bebida alcoólica maior que o estudo referido e a média nacional, o que reflete a necessidade de ações eficientes que atendam às demandas e necessidades sociais e de saúde dessa camada da população brasileira. Igualmente, investigação realizada com mulheres porto--riquenhas que viviam nos Estados Unidos, obteve resultados em que 25,0% declararam-se ex-bebedoras e quando perguntadas sobre o consumo atual de bedidas alcóolicas 35,0%, responderam positivamente, sendo que, destas, 27,0% eram bebedoras moderadas e 8,0%, bebedoras pesadas (16) .…”