Bloomfield K, Mansmann U
Institut für Medizinische Statistik und Informationsverarbeitung, Freien Universität Berlin.
Gesundheitswesen. 1997 Apr;59(4):283-8.
In comparison to other European and western countries, the social epidemiology of alcohol consumption and alcohol abuse in the general population remains under-researched in Germany. In an attempt to begin to fill this gap, data sets from the German Cardiovascular Prevention Study (DHP), now available as public use files, are analysed. The goals of the present study are: (1) to investigate the data sets from the first and second stages of the DHP (1984, 1987) for possible trends in drinking patterns in the German general population, and (2) through use of logistic regression, to identify sociodemographic correlates of heavy drinking. The frequency of consumption of various types of alcoholic beverages declined slightly to moderately among both men and women between 1984 and 1987. The percentage of persons who drank alcohol also declined. Mean consumption of alcohol remained basically unchanged between the two points: about 30 g per day for men and about 13 g per day for women. The second goal of the research was to identify sociodemographic correlates of heavy drinking. It was found that women of a particular age group, 30-39 years, are inclined to be heavy drinkers in comparison to women of other ages. Also among women, higher socioeconomic status showed a positive relationship to heavy drinking: however, income showed a negative influence. Only through the interactions with age and with level of secondary education was income positively related to heavy drinking. Among men, those with four children or more showed greater odds to be heavy drinkers. But the odds for heavy drinking decline among older men who live with their partners, while the odds for heavy drinking are higher for older men who live alone. The chances of being a heavy drinker are also considerably higher for employed men in comparison to men not employed; however, employed men of higher socioeconomic status have reduced odds of being heavy drinkers. These findings suggest that the research results from other countries with regard to predictors of heavy drinking may not be entirely applicable to the German general population. In any case, more detailed research into the social epidemiology of alcohol consumption in Germany is warranted. New and more specific knowledge can then be used to help develop public health measures for certain population subgroups who are identified as being at risk for alcohol abuse or alcohol problems on account of their heavy alcohol consumption.
与其他欧洲国家和西方国家相比，德国普通人群中酒精消费和酒精滥用的社会流行病学研究仍显不足。为填补这一空白，本文分析了德国心血管疾病预防研究（DHP）现已公开的数据集。本研究的目标是：（1）调查DHP第一阶段和第二阶段（1984年、1987年）的数据，以了解德国普通人群饮酒模式的可能趋势；（2）通过逻辑回归分析，确定大量饮酒的社会人口学相关因素。1984年至1987年间，男性和女性各类酒精饮料的消费频率均有轻微至中度下降。饮酒者的比例也有所下降。两点之间的酒精平均消费量基本保持不变：男性约为每天30克，女性约为每天13克。该研究的第二个目标是确定大量饮酒的社会人口学相关因素。研究发现，与其他年龄段的女性相比，30至39岁这一特定年龄段的女性更倾向于大量饮酒。在女性中，较高的社会经济地位与大量饮酒呈正相关；然而，收入却呈现出负面影响。只有通过与年龄以及中等教育水平的相互作用，收入才与大量饮酒呈正相关。在男性中，有四个或更多孩子的男性大量饮酒的几率更高。但是，与伴侣同住的老年男性大量饮酒的几率会下降，而独居的老年男性大量饮酒的几率则更高。与未就业男性相比，就业男性大量饮酒的几率也显著更高；然而，社会经济地位较高的就业男性大量饮酒的几率较低。这些研究结果表明，其他国家关于大量饮酒预测因素的研究结果可能并不完全适用于德国普通人群。无论如何，有必要对德国酒精消费的社会流行病学进行更详细的研究。这样，新的、更具体的知识就可以用于帮助为某些因大量饮酒而被认定有酒精滥用或酒精问题风险的人群亚组制定公共卫生措施。
