Alcohol abstinence and drinking among African women: data from the World Health Surveys

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Nirmala Naidoo¹  Priscilla Martinez²  Thomas Clausen²  Jo Røislien³ 

[1] Department of Health Statistics and Informatics, World Health Organization, Avenue Appia 20, 1211, Geneva 27, Switzerland;Norwegian Center for Addiction Research, University of Oslo, Kirkeveien 166, 0450, Oslo, Norway;Norwegian Center for Addiction Research, University of Oslo, Kirkeveien 166, 0450, Oslo, Norway;Department of Biostatistics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1122, N-0317, Blindern, Oslo, Norway;

关键词: Heavy Drinker;    African Woman;    Drinking Pattern;    Hazardous Drinking;    Standard Drink;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-11-160

 received in 2010-09-21, accepted in 2011-03-10,  发布年份 2011

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundAlcohol use is increasing among women in Africa, and comparable information about women's current alcohol use is needed to inform national and international health policies relevant to the entire population. This study aimed to provide a comparative description of alcohol use among women across 20 African countries.MethodsData were collected as part of the WHO World Health Survey using standardized questionnaires. In total, 40,739 adult women were included in the present study. Alcohol measures included lifetime abstinence, current use (≥1 drink in previous week), heavy drinking (15+ drinks in the previous week) and risky single-occasion drinking (5+ drinks on at least one day in the previous week). Country-specific descriptives of alcohol use were calculated, and K-means clustering was performed to identify countries with similar characteristics. Multiple logistic regression models were fitted for each country to identify factors associated with drinking status.ResultsA total of 33,841 (81%) African women reported lifetime abstinence. Current use ranged from 1% in Malawi to 30% in Burkina Faso. Among current drinkers, heavy drinking varied between 4% in Ghana to 41% in Chad, and risky single-occasion drinking ranged from <1% in Mauritius to 58% in Chad. Increasing age was associated with increased odds of being a current drinker in about half of the countries.ConclusionsA variety of drinking patterns are present among African women with lifetime abstention the most common. Countries with hazardous consumption patterns require serious attention to mitigate alcohol-related harm. Some similarities in factors related to alcohol use can be identified between different African countries, although these are limited and highlight the contextual diversity of female drinking in Africa.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Martinez et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011