Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
BMC Public Health. 2013 May 29;13:519. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-13-519.
Gambling problems currently affect approximately 100,000 Finns. In order to prevent and reduce gambling-related harms it is crucial for the Finnish public health authorities to gain a stronger understanding of the association between gambling problems and related socio-demographic factors, other commonly co-occurring dependencies (e.g. alcohol and nicotine) and the type of games gambled. In this article the prevalence of problem gambling in Finland and the socio-demographic profiles of problem gamblers are studied.
An annual postal survey entitled Health Behaviour and Health among the Finnish Adult Population AVTK was sent to a random sample of Finnish adults (N=5000) aged between 15 and 64. The sample was derived from the Finnish Population Register. The survey was mailed to the participants in April 2010. Gender differences in socio-demographic variables and Problem Gambling Severity Index PGSI were assessed. A multinomial regression model was created in order to explore the association between socio-demographic factors and the severity of gambling.
A total of 2826 individuals (1243 males and 1583 females) replied to the survey. Of the respondents, 1.1% (2.1% of males, 0.3% of females) were identified as problem gamblers. Those who were of younger age, gender, had less than twelve years of education, consumed alcohol at risk level and smoked had higher odds of having low or moderate levels of gambling problems. Whereas, unemployment and smoking predicted significantly for problem gambling. Females gambled Lotto and slot machines less frequently than males and had more low level gambling problems. Males gambled more with a higher frequency and had a more severe level of gambling problems. Females were more attracted to scratch card gambling and daily Keno lotteries compared to males. In comparison, males gambled more on internet poker sites than females. Overall, a high frequency of gambling in Lotto, daily lotteries, slot machines, horse race betting and internet gambling was significantly associated with a more severe level of problem gambling.
Gambling problems affect tens of thousands of individuals annually, therefore certain vulnerabilities should be noted. Comorbid dependencies, smoking in particular, ought to be screened for and recognised in the public health sector. Regulating the availability of slot machine gambling and enforcement of the age limit should be acknowledged. In establishing new gambling venues, prevalence rates in those particular areas should be actively monitored.
赌博问题目前影响着大约 10 万名芬兰人。为了预防和减少与赌博相关的危害，芬兰公共卫生当局必须更深入地了解赌博问题与相关社会人口因素、其他常见共同存在的依赖（如酒精和尼古丁）以及所赌博的游戏类型之间的关系。本文研究了芬兰的赌博问题普遍性以及赌博问题者的社会人口特征。
一项名为“芬兰成年人健康行为和健康状况年度调查”（AVTK）的年度邮购调查向年龄在 15 至 64 岁之间的芬兰成年人随机样本（N=5000）发送。该样本取自芬兰人口登记册。该调查于 2010 年 4 月寄给参与者。评估了社会人口变量和赌博问题严重程度指数（PGSI）的性别差异。为了探索社会人口因素与赌博严重程度之间的关系，创建了一个多项回归模型。
共有 2826 人（男性 1243 人，女性 1583 人）回复了调查。在答复者中，有 1.1%（男性 2.1%，女性 0.3%）被确定为赌博问题者。那些年龄较小、性别、受教育程度低于十二年、饮酒处于危险水平和吸烟的人，出现低或中度赌博问题的可能性更高。而失业和吸烟则显著预测了赌博问题。女性比男性较少玩彩票和老虎机，且出现低水平赌博问题的可能性更高。男性则更频繁地赌博，且赌博问题更为严重。女性更倾向于刮刮卡赌博和日常基诺彩票，而男性则更倾向于玩网络扑克。总体而言，彩票、日常彩票、老虎机、赛马投注和网络赌博的高频率与更严重的赌博问题程度显著相关。
赌博问题每年影响着数万人，因此应该注意到某些脆弱性。在公共卫生部门，应该筛查和识别共病依赖性，特别是吸烟。应该承认限制老虎机赌博的可获得性并加强对年龄限制的执行。在设立新的赌博场所时，应该积极监测这些特定地区的流行率。
