scholarly journals Patterns of alcohol consumption in 10 European countries participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) project

2002 ◽  
Vol 5 (6b) ◽  
pp. 1287-1296 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Sieri ◽  
A Agudo ◽  
E Kesse ◽  
K Klipstein-Grobusch ◽  
B San-José ◽  
...  

Abstractbjective:The aim of this study was to compare the quantities of alcohol and types of alcoholic beverages consumed, and the timing of consumption, in centres participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). These centres, in 10 European countries, are characterised by widely differing drinking habits and frequencies of alcohol-related diseases.Methods:We collected a single standardised 24-hour dietary recall per subject from a random sample of the EPIC cohort (36 900 persons initially and 35 955 after exclusion of subjects under 35 and over 74 years of age). This provided detailed information on the distribution of alcohol consumption during the day in relation to main meals, and was used to determine weekly consumption patterns. The crude and adjusted (by age, day of week and season) means of total ethanol consumption and consumption according to type of beverage were stratified by centre and sex.Results:Sex was a strong determinant of drinking patterns in all 10 countries. The highest total alcohol consumption was observed in the Spanish centres (San Sebastian, 41.4 g day−1) for men and in Danish centres (Copenhagen, 20.9 g day−1) for women. The lowest total alcohol intake was in the Swedish centres (Umeå, 10.2 g day−1) in men and in Greek women (3.4 g day−1). Among men, the main contributor to total alcohol intake was wine in Mediterranean countries and beer in the Dutch, German, Swedish and Danish centres. In most centres, the main source of alcohol for women was wine except for Murcia (Spain), where it was beer. Alcohol consumption, particularly by women, increased markedly during the weekend in nearly all centres. The German, Dutch, UK (general population) and Danish centres were characterised by the highest percentages of alcohol consumption outside mealtimes.Conclusions:The large variation in drinking patterns among the EPIC centres provides an opportunity to better understand the relationship between alcohol and alcohol-related diseases.

1995 ◽  
Vol 12 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 14-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sari Hanhinen

This article compares Nordic drinking habit surveys and their results — a comparison previously done in 1988. It includes all the main surveys regarding drinking habits of the adult population in the Nordic countries since 1988. In addition the analysis takes in Italy and Germany. Drinking habits are described and compared on four dimensions: the share of abstainers and drinkers, overall drinking frequency, the volume of alcohol consumption, and heavy drinking and drinking for intoxication. The study highlights the difficulties inherent in the international comparison of drinking habits. The results indicate that even though the changes in beverage preferences imply a homogenization of drinking patterns, the homogenization hypothesis proves to be wrong when comparing the results concerning the shares of abstainers, drinking frequencies or distribution of alcohol consumption between women and men. Denmark still differs from the rest of the Nordic countries in these respects, being closer to central European countries like Germany. In the other Nordic countries traditional drinking patterns seem to persist despite the changes in beverage preferences. Closest to Denmark and central European countries stands Finland, where drinking frequency has been rising and where more alcohol is consumed than in Sweden, Norway and Iceland. Looking at the previous comparison of Nordic drinking habits, it can be concluded that drinking habits are very open to changes.


2001 ◽  
Vol 18 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 31-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jussi Simpura ◽  
Thomas Karlsson

Jussi Simpura & Thomas Karlsson: Trends in drinking patterns among adult population in 15 European countries, 1950 to 2000: a review Under the auspices of the European Comparative Alcohol Study (ECAS), data was compiled on trends in drinking patterns from 15 European countries (EU member countries, Luxembourg excluded, and Norway) from 1950 to 2000. This review is based on existing survey data on adult population. It turned out that (a) only a few countries (Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden) have data on drinking patterns in the 1950s and 1960s, but (b) an increasing number of countries have drinking habit surveys from the 1970s and 1980s onwards (Austria, Denmark, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom) and (c) in the 1990s, almost all EU member countries have conducted surveys with data on drinking patterns (France, Greece, Italy, and Portugal, while Belgium remains the only country with very little data available). The data is, however, too scarce to say anything very certain about trends and the possible homogenisation of drinking patterns. Six indicators were studied in more detail. Abstinence rates fell in the 1960s in the traditionally abstinent Northern European countries, and later among women in the Mediterranean countries. Women's share of drinking also increased in the Northern European countries in the 1970s, but not necessarily elsewhere. With decreasing alcohol consumption in the Mediterranean countries, this means that per capita alcohol consumption among women may well have decreased, too. With a few exceptions, 30 to 50-year-olds were the age group with the highest alcohol consumption. The age distribution showed no general trends. Data on the shape of the population distribution of alcohol consumption was scarce, except for a few countries where the shape did not suggest any systematic changes. Also, data on binge drinking (high intake per single occasion) was mostly scarce, and again, the findings from the few countries with sufficient data showed remarkable stability. Remarkably slow changes were also evident in specific drinking contexts. There may be some signs of slow homogenisation of drinking patterns between the 15 European countries, but the differences are still notable. The main conclusion is that changes in drinking patterns are slow, even amidst rapidly changing living conditions. The natural time scale for such changes is not a few years or even a decade, but a generation.


2001 ◽  
Vol 18 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 82-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Karlsson ◽  
Jussi Simpura

Thomas Karlsson & Jussi Simpura: Changes in living conditions and their links to alcohol consumption and drinking patterns in 16 European countries, 1950 to 2000 The aim of this article, as part of the drinking pattern analysis of the ECAS project, is to examine how changes in living conditions have affected the formation and dynamics of European drinking habits in 1950–2000. The development of living conditions in post-World War II Europe shows that the same trends have emerged in all the current EU member states. Some of the most important changes we recognize include increasing urbanization and the emergence of the service sector. While we can distinguish similar patterns in the development of living conditions in the EU member states, this is not the case in the development of alcohol consumption. Overall alcohol consumption in the wine countries has been decreasing, while the consumption levels have been on the rise in the beer and former spirits countries. The changes in living conditions – which we can see as a part of the modernization process – have produced almost opposite results in different countries and at different times. This also applies to the development of drinking habits and alcohol consumption in the EU member states during the latter part of the 20th century.


2019 ◽  
pp. 60-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Guerra-Doce

The taste for alcohol is not exclusive to humans, as some other animal species are attracted to ripe fruits and nectar due to the natural occurrence of ethanol. However, what makes Homo sapiens different is their capacity to produce alcoholic beverages. From the Neolithic, if not earlier, the production of alcoholic drinks is documented, and this production ensured the supply of alcohol. Consequently, alcohol consumption was no longer sporadic and occasional. This process ran in parallel to the development of specific alcohol-related equipment, and organized drinking patterns gradually became more and more formalized. Its use has depended not only on its effects, mainly its capacity to enhance sociability, but also on historical, economic, and religious factors. The aim of this chapter is to search for the origins of this dynamic in prehistoric Europe from an archaeological perspective in order to explore the foundations of the cultural construction of alcohol.


1997 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 154-166
Author(s):  
Leena Metso ◽  
Jussi Simpura

Three nationwide surveys from the years 1992, 1993, and 1996 were used to study whether basic features of Finnish drinking habits changed in the 1990s. Two factors that might have produced changes are the deep economic depression since 1991 and Finland's EU membership since 1995. The effects of the depression were visible in a decline in overall alcohol consumption after 1991, which recovered to the earlier level by 1996. The effects of EU membership involved, among many other things, certain administrative structures of the Finnish alcohol monopoly system. However, basic features of drinking patterns, like abstinence, drinking frequency, frequency of binge drinking, and the distribution of alcohol consumption, have remained untouched by those external changes. This can be taken as further evidence that drinking patterns typically change very slowly.


2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 619-631
Author(s):  
Katariina Warpenius ◽  
Pia Mäkelä

Aims/materials: This reflection piece reviews some of the key results and conclusions from the book Näin Suomi juo ( This is how Finns drink, 2018), based on the Finnish Drinking Habits Survey. Our aim was to go through the results taking the perspective of prevention workers and policymakers: how could they benefit from the scientific findings when tackling alcohol-related harm? Results/reflections: The reflections displayed in this article provide some useful arguments and justifications for population-level alcohol policy in the controversial alcohol policy debate. Harms do not only arise among the heaviest drinkers, and efficient methods to prevent harm may be found among the prevention efforts that apply to populations rather than only to the heaviest drinkers. The article also illustrates how the results from a population survey can be used in order to identify specific challenges and solutions for alcohol prevention in a given population. The results help in identifying the population groups and situations with an elevated risk of alcohol-related harm and in characterising the drinking patterns and social situations in which drinking takes place in these vulnerable parts of the population. Conclusions: The review illustrates that a many-sided understanding of alcohol consumption and the related harm, based on survey results, is more far-reaching in terms of prevention and policy than a knowledge base built solely on register data on the development of alcohol consumption and harm. For example, the respondents’ drinking patterns are linked not only to their attitudes and risk perceptions but also to what people consider to be appropriate means to reduce alcohol use and the related harm in terms of alcohol policy, informal social control and people’s life management.


2005 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther Lukasiewicz ◽  
Louise I Mennen ◽  
Sandrine Bertrais ◽  
Nathalie Arnault ◽  
Paul Preziosi ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectiveAlcohol consumption may play a role in the development of obesity but the relationship between alcohol and weight is still unclear. The aim of our study was to assess the cross-sectional association of intakes of total alcohol and of specific alcoholic beverages (wine, beer and spirits) with waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and body mass index (BMI) in a large sample of adults from all over France.DesignCross-sectional.SettingParticipants were free-living healthy volunteers of the SU.VI.MAX study (an intervention study on the effects of antioxidant supplementation on chronic diseases).SubjectsFor 1481 women aged 35–60 years and 1210 men aged 45–60 years, intakes of total alcohol and specific alcoholic beverages were assessed by six 24-hour dietary records. BMI and WHR were measured during a clinical examination the year after.ResultsA J-shaped relationship was found between total alcohol consumption and WHR in both sexes and between total alcohol consumption and BMI in men only (P < 0.05). The same relationships were observed with wine (P < 0.05); men and women consuming less than 100 g day−1 had a lower BMI (men only) and WHR than non-drinkers or those consuming more. Spirits consumption was positively associated with BMI (linear regression coefficient β = 0.21, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.09–0.34 and β = 0.22, 95% CI: 0.06–0.39 for men and women, respectively) and WHR (β = 0.003, 95% CI: 0.001–0.005 and β = 0.003, 95%CI: 0.0002–0.006) in both sexes in a linear fashion. No relationship between beer consumption and BMI or WHR was found.ConclusionIf confirmed in longitudinal studies, our results indicate that consumption of alcoholic beverages may be a risk factor for obesity.


Author(s):  
Piotr Jałowiecki ◽  
Izabela Surtel

The paper presents the results of research on the differentiation of alcohol consumption in European countries in the years 2000-2013. In the study period, the trend of consumption of alcoholic products from the growing to the decreasing one was changed. This change was in the years 2007-2008 and is most likely related to the financial crisis that has just started. The consumption of alcoholic beverages in Europe is characterized by low levels of diversification over the period considered, which means that, despite the aforementioned trend change, it was quite stable. The differentiation of consumption levels of alcoholic beverages in individual countries was also assessed and classified in terms of their level.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Galya D. Chamova ◽  
Georgi M. Sarov

Summary Parental alcohol drinking is associated with an increased risk of alcohol consumption in adolescents and social drinking is often the first step to regular alcohol consumption. The purpose of the study was to investigate the association between social drinking in adolescence and parental alcohol consumption. We conducted a survey, using a self-completed questionnaire about alcohol drinking habits. Of 903 students (aged 15-19), 279 (30.9%) were found to be abstainers (NDA) and 455 (50.39%) were social drinkers (SDA). These two groups were statistically compared for drinking patterns of their parents. It was found that SDA are fourfold less likely than NDA to have two alcohol abstaining parents (OR=0.26, 95%CI =0.19-0.37) and fourfold more likely to have two alcohol drinking parents (OR=3.89, 95%CI =2.77-5.45). There were no significant differences between SDA and NDA regarding probability to have one abstaining and one socially drinking parent, and SDA were less likely to have one abstaining and one regularly drinking parent (OR=0.54, 0.37-0.8). The social learning theory explains well adolescent drinking patterns when there is no contradiction in parental modeling. It seems, however, that the presence of contradicting patterns of parental alcohol drinking needs another explanation. Since contradicting parental modeling prevents adolescents from social drinking, it could be considered in health prevention intervention.


2019 ◽  
Vol 110 (3) ◽  
pp. 691-700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa T Fung ◽  
Kenneth J Mukamal ◽  
Eric B Rimm ◽  
Haakon E Meyer ◽  
Walter C Willett ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBackgroundAlthough a number of studies have examined the association between alcohol intake and hip fractures, few have considered specific alcoholic beverages separately.ObjectivesWe prospectively assessed total alcohol and specific alcoholic beverage consumption and risk of hip fractures in US men and women.MethodsHealth, lifestyle information, and hip fractures were self-reported on biennial questionnaires between 1980 and 2014 in 75,180 postmenopausal women from the Nurses’ Health Study, and between 1986 and 2014 in 38,398 men aged ≥50 y from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. Diet was assessed approximately every 4 y with a semiquantitative FFQ. RRs were computed for hip fracture using Cox proportional hazards models, adjusting for potential confounders.ResultsWe ascertained 2360 incident low trauma hip fractures in women and 709 in men. Among women, RRs for low trauma hip fractures compared with nondrinkers were 0.89 (95% CI: 0.80, 0.99) for an average daily consumption of <5.0 g, 0.81 (95% CI: 0.70, 0.94) for 5.0 to <10.0 g, 0.83 (95% CI: 0.71, 0.96) for 10.0 to <20.0 g, and 0.93 (95% CI: 0.78, 1.10) for ≥20.0 g. Among men, risk declined linearly with higher alcohol consumption (P-trend = 0.002). Multivariable RR compared with nondrinkers was 0.77 (95% CI: 0.59, 1.01), 0.69 (0.49, 0.96), and 0.67 (0.48, 0.95) for an average intake of 10 g/d to <20 g/d, 20 g/d to <30 g/d, and 30.0 g/d or more, respectively. In women, the alcoholic beverage most significantly associated with hip fracture risk was red wine (RR per serving = 0.59; 95% CI: 0.45, 0.79). In men, there was no clear association with specific alcoholic beverages.ConclusionIn these 2 US cohorts, low to moderate alcohol consumption, when compared with no consumption, was associated with a lower risk of hip fractures, particularly with red wine consumption among women.


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