Objective: To determine the relative validity and reproducibility of two alcohol intake frequency questionnaires (AFQ-A; AFQ-B), designed to classify subjects according to their alcohol intake level, in Bucaramanga, Colombia. Method: One hundred and nine randomly selected subjects, aged between 20 and 60 years, completed three 30-day semi-quantitative alcohol intake records (30-DR). The AFQs were applied three months after the last 30-DR. AFQ-A contained 53 items; AFQ-B contained five items, with the alcoholic drinks for AFQ-B selected by Max_r. The correlation and agreement between alcohol intake assessed with the AFQs and the 30-DR were obtained using Pearson's correlation coefficient (r), Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (r C ), Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (r S ), Bland and Altman's limits of agreement (LOA) and Cohen's weighted kappa statistic (K w ). Results: The reproducibility of the 30-DR was poor; r S ranged from 0.33 to 0.41. The reproducibility of the AFQs was higher, with r S between 0.50 and 0.73. The agreement (K w ) of the 30-DR and the AFQs was 0.40. The lower and upper LOA were between 2 56.4% and 211.0%. The AFQs and 30-DR were well correlated. Assessment of relative validity between the two methods yielded r values for alcohol between 0.52 and 0.60, which reduced to 0.20-0.29 after energy adjustment. Conclusions: These AFQs may be useful to rank subjects according to their alcohol intake. The AFQ-B is easy and quick to apply, and is also highly cost-effective. Keywords Alcohol consumption Food-frequency questionnaire Max_r ColombiaDuring the last 50 years, Colombia -like many other countries of the world -has experienced demographic and epidemiological transitions. The changes attributed to these transitions include ageing of the population, changed dietary habits to high intakes of foods rich in fats, sugar and salt, and increased alcohol consumption 1 -3 . The prevalence of alcohol consumption has increased in Colombia during the last 15 years, reaching 86% among the population older than 12 years in 1997, and also the age at which consumption begins has decreased to 9 years old 4 -6 . Despite the need to quantify alcohol intake and establish whether or not it is related to dietary habits, chronic diseases, trauma and social or mental diseases, there are no valid instruments available for this purpose in Colombia.Even when alcohol is not a nutrient, methods used in the study of diet can be applied in the quantification of alcohol consumption 7 . The research on dietary intake and its relationship with chronic diseases has been carried out with simplified questionnaires that ask about the dietary pattern before the disease. Alcohol frequency questionnaires (AFQs) have been the most useful tool in epidemiological research 7 -9 , not only for their low cost but also because they result in good classification of subjects based on their intake. Moreover, the level of intake can be measured with more validity 10 . However, alcohol consumption is a difficult-to-m...

The expectancy decrease of physical tension and decrease of psychological tension are a part of individual behavior and could predict problem drinking. The factors increase of expressiveness and sexuality and lack of inhibition and feelings of power, are more associated to group behaviors.

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Expectancies towards alcohol consumption in Bucaramanga, ColombiaBackground: Expectancies such as memories, motivations and emotions towards alcohol are an important predictor of alcohol consumption in the population. The Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (AEQ-III) can measure objectively these expectancies. Aim: To study which expectancies are associated to alcohol consumption in adults living in Bucaramanga, Colombia. Material and methods: The AEQ-III was applied to 601 adults (334 males) aged 18 to 60 years. A binomial regression was used to determine the expectancies that were associated with alcohol consumption after adjusting for social and demographic variables. Results: Eighty nine percent of the population consumes alcohol, without differences by age, gender, body mass index, educational or socioeconomic level. Positive expectancies related to disinhibition and feelings of power with a prevalence ratio (PR) of 1.33 (95% confidence intervals of 1.06-1.67) and an age of less than 16 years when alcohol consumption started, with a PR of 1.15 (95% confidence intervals of 1.08-1.23), were the only two explanatory variables for alcohol consumption. Conclusions: Alcohol comsuption is more associated to social context and group integration than with individual behaviors (Rev Méd Chile 2008; 136: 73-82).

Introducción. Algunas consecuencias del consumo de alcohol son un problema de salud pública. El desarrollo de instrumentos para clasificar correctamente a los consumidores es la primera etapa en la investigación epidemiológica. Objetivo. Evaluar en Bucaramanga, Colombia, la validez interna y la reproducibilidad de una nueva prueba denominada consumo problemático de alcohol, durante el periodo [2005][2006]. Materiales y métodos. Estudio de consistencia interna y reproducibilidad de tecnología diagnóstica. Seiscientos un sujetos entre 18 y 60 años respondieron en dos ocasiones la prueba consumo problemático de alcohol y una encuesta sobre variables biológicas, sociodemográficas y de características de la dieta. La consistencia interna de la prueba fue evaluada mediante el cálculo del coeficiente alfa de Cronbach, y la reproducibilidad con los coeficientes de Spearman y kappa. Para evaluar la asociación entre el consumo problemático, las anteriores variables y el riesgo de alcoholismo, se calcularon razones de prevalencia utilizando regresión binomial. Resultados. La prevalencia de consumo problemático para la población estudiada fue de 46,9%, intervalo de confianza del 95% de 42,9 a 50,9. Los hombres presentaron consumo problemático 1,63 veces más que las mujeres (p<0,001). El coeficiente alfa de Cronbach fue moderado para todas las preguntas de la prueba de consumo problemático de alcohol (mínimo=0,41, máximo=0,61). En la primera aplicación de la prueba se obtuvo un alfa de Cronbach de 0,63; en la segunda, de 0,49 (p=0,106). El coeficiente de correlación de Spearman fue de 0,87 (0,84 a 0,90) para la población, de 0,86 (0,82 a 0,90) para hombres y 0,86 (0,82 a 0,90) para mujeres. La reproducibilidad según el coeficiente kappa es buena, entre 0,70 y 0,89. El sexo, el gusto manifestado por las bebidas con contenido alcohólico, el riesgo de alcoholismo según la prueba Cut Down on Drinking, Annoyed by Criticism, Guilty Feeling, and Eye Opener (CAGE) y la cantidad de alcohol consumida en gramos, estuvieron asociadas al consumo problemático. Conclusión. La prueba de consumo problemático de alcohol es útil en la investigación epidemiológica aplicada.Palabras clave: alcoholismo/epidemiología, técnicas y procedimientos diagnósticos, reproducibilidad de resultados, validez de las pruebas, Colombia.Test for assessing levels of alcohol consumption in Bucaramanga, Colombia: design and validation.