School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne 3083, Australia.
The Department of Mathematics and Statistics, La Trobe University, Melbourne 3083, Australia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jan 5;19(1):589. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19010589.
Current alcohol public health policy in Australia is not uniform but is generally focused on restricting access and early prevention of problematic alcohol use. Semi-urban and rural populations are at greater risk of disease and other poor health outcomes due to a variety of factors. Little is known about problematic drinking patterns over time in semi-urban and rural populations. This study aims to assess patterns of problematic drinking defined as both long-term risky and heavy episodic drinking over time by age, sex, and mental health status among urban, semi-urban and rural populations). Four waves (2004 to 2016) of the Australian NDSHS (National Drug Strategy Household Survey) were analyzed to assess problematic drinking of participants over 18 years of age. We used regression models and predictive margins to identify trends in problematic drinking over time based on age, sex, and mental health status. Our results show young adults across all regions, males, and mentally well individuals in urban areas have reductions in the risk of problematic drinking over time. Middle-aged adults across all regions, females, and those with varying mental health presentations in rural areas have some increases in risk of problematic drinking over time. The general conclusion is that targeted alcohol-related public health policy may need to change and focus on females, middle-aged individuals, and those living in rural areas. Programs to support problematic drinking in people with mental health disorders may also need to be a priority.
目前澳大利亚的酒精公共卫生政策并不统一，而是普遍侧重于限制接触和早期预防有问题的酒精使用。由于多种因素，半城市和农村人口面临更大的疾病和其他健康不良后果的风险。对于半城市和农村人口来说，随着时间的推移，关于有问题的饮酒模式的了解甚少。本研究旨在评估在城市、半城市和农村人口中，根据年龄、性别和心理健康状况，定义为长期风险和重度间歇性饮酒的有问题的饮酒模式。分析了澳大利亚 NDSHS（国家毒品策略家庭调查）的四个波次（2004 年至 2016 年），以评估 18 岁以上参与者的有问题饮酒情况。我们使用回归模型和预测边缘来根据年龄、性别和心理健康状况确定随时间推移的有问题饮酒趋势。我们的研究结果表明，在所有地区，男性和心理健康的年轻人在城市地区随着时间的推移，有问题饮酒的风险降低。在所有地区，女性和心理健康表现各异的中年成年人随着时间的推移，有问题饮酒的风险增加。总的来说，有针对性的与酒精相关的公共卫生政策可能需要改变，并侧重于女性、中年人和农村地区的人。支持有心理健康障碍的人有问题饮酒的计划也可能需要成为优先事项。
