Alcohol consumption in a rural area of Cantabria

Abstract

A two-stage cross-sectional survey was performed in a representative rural sample of the autonomous community of Cantabria, to investigate the social, medical and psychopathological factors associated with alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption was investigated by means of a specific questionnaire. Mental and physical health was evaluated in the first-stage sample using: (1) the General Health Questionnaire, (2) the Cornell Medical Index. In the second stage all members of the sample were interviewed at home using the 140-item version of the Present State Examination (PSE-9). We found that 25.4% of males and 0.6% of females were consuming more than 63 alcohol units per week. Alcohol consumption was significantly associated with different social variables. Although it was possible to detect an increase in weekend drinking, especially in the heavy alcohol users, daily alcohol consumption, mainly around meals, was the predominant drinking pattern. We also found a significant inverse association between excessive alcohol consumption and the presence of physical or mental illness. Excessive alcohol use tended to be associated in males with depression and in females, with anxiety.

Substance use disorders in the farming population: Scoping review

“…Worldwide, the prevalence of alcohol consumption among the rural population varies greatly, ranging from 1.4% to 64%, 23–30 and among farmers, the prevalence of high‐risk alcohol consumption ranged from 18% to 43% 26,29,31 . Especially in the developing countries, such as South Africa, where the use of dop system, a form of remuneration whereby farmworkers are part‐paid in kind with alcohol, has contributed to a wide dispersion of a culture of alcohol consumption in agricultural and rural communities 32 …”

Consumo de bebida alcoólica entre fumicultores: prevalência e fatores associados

“…Being retired and having some type of social support 22 were protection factors against highrisk consumption while practicing some religion was negatively associated with alcohol-related disorders 30 and high-risk consumption 19,31 . Inconsistent findings were reported regarding the association of age 9,18,21,22,31 , income 8,9,18,22 , marital status 5,9,18,22,31, schooling 6,7,10,12,19,21,31 , and hours of work in agriculture 32 with different consumption patterns.…”

“…Social acceptance may favor greater consumption, but also lead to overestimated reports among men and underestimated reports among women. Alcohol was mainly consumed on the weekend 12 during reproduction moments, when the worker seeks relaxation 3 , recreational activities, and festivities 4,28 . In the literature, the association between age and high-risk consumption or heavy drinking are inconsistent 3,7,9,13,19,21,22,28,31 .…”

“…Scales such as AUDIT 5,14,17,[19][20][21][22][23][24] , CAGE 3,11,25 , MAST 11 , and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) 10,26 can also be used. The prevalence of alcohol consumption among the rural population worldwide varies greatly, ranging from 1.4% 10,11,14,22,27 to 64% 12,15,17,19,27 for high-risk consumption among men and women, and from 4.5% 12,28 a 38% 3,13,20 for heavy drinking among men. Among farmers, the prevalence of high-risk alcohol consumption ranged from 18% 16 to 43% 17,27 .…”

“…Measuring and qualifying alcohol consumption is a complex task due to cultural differences, variability in measurement instruments, or a lack of standardized concepts. Consumption can be measured as different periods (currently [2][3][4][5][6][7][8] , ever 7,9 , number of days 4,8,10 ) units of measurement (grams 3,[11][12][13][14][15] , milliliters 7,9 , or number of standard doses 10,[16][17][18] ), or even as different consumption patterns (got drunk 4,7,8 ). Scales such as AUDIT 5,14,17,[19][20][21][22][23][24] , CAGE 3,11,25 , MAST 11 , and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) 10,26 can also be used.…”