Alcohol consumption among white, black, or oriental men and women: Kaiser-Permanente multiphasic health examination data.

Alcohol consumption habits as recorded on health checkup questionnaires by 91,659 white, black, or Oriental men and women were studied. Substantial age, sex, and race differences in alcohol consumption were reported. Generally, men drank more than women, drinking was most prevalent among whites and least prevalent among Orientals, and the highest proportion of drinkers was found in the age decades 20-29 and 30-39 years. Consumption of 3+ drinks per day was most prevalent in the age decades 40-49 and 50-59. The proportion of nondrinkers diminished with increasing educational attainment. Alcohol use showed a strong positive assocaition with cigarette smoking, a weaker positive association with coffee use, and no relation to blood group within race. A complex relation was observed between alcohol use and adiposity, which differed for the various sex-race subgroups. It is concluded that age, sex, race, educational attainment, smoking, and adiposity are potentially significant confounders of studies of alcohol use and health.