Alcohol use, acculturation and socioeconomic status among Hispanic/Latino men and women: The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence and patterns of alcohol use among U.S. Hispanic/Latino adults of diverse backgrounds. The population-based Hispanic Community Health Study/ Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) enrolled a cohort of Hispanic/Latino adults ( N = 16,415) ages 18–74 years at time of recruitment, from four US metropolitan areas between 2008–11. Drinking patterns and socio-demographics questionnaires were administered as part of the baseline examination. The relationship between age, sex, socio-demographics, acculturation, current alcohol use, and alcohol risk disorder, defined by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) [no risk (i.e., never drinker), low risk (i.e., women<7 drinks/week; men<14 drinks/week), and at-risk (i.e., women>7 drinks/week; men>14 drinks/week)] were assessed in unadjusted and adjusted multinomial logistic regression analyses. Men reported a higher prevalence than women of at-risk drinking. For women, increased odds of at-risk alcohol use was associated with: a younger age, greater education, full-time employment, and acculturation after adjustment. For men, having a lower income (vs. higher income) or a higher income (vs. not reported) and being employed fulltime (vs. retired) was associated with at-risk alcohol use. For both men and women, there were variations in odds of at-risk drinking across Hispanic/Latino heritage backgrounds, after adjustment. Exact values, odds ratios and p-values are reported within the text. Common factors across sex associated with at-risk drinking included being of Mexican background and being employed full-time. Intervention strategies should consider diversity within the Hispanic/Latino community when designing alcohol abuse prevention programs.

Prevalence and Patterns of Dental Care Utilization among US-Born and Non–US Born Hispanics in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos

“…This concept has been widely applied in other studies of health outcomes and health care utilization (Thomson and Hoffman-Goetz 2009; Lopez-Class et al 2011; Abraído-Lanza et al 2016), while analyses of acculturation in oral health and oral health research have been limited (Gao and McGrath 2011; Dahlan et al 2019). Acculturation has also been usefully critiqued as being overly focused on individual behavior, dismissive of the heterogeneity that exists within immigrant communities, and blind to structural determinants of health, including racism, xenophobia, and stigma, as well as exclusions from care (Alegria 2009; Viruell-Fuentes et al 2012; Castañeda et al 2019). Examining the influence of immigration-related factors associated with dental utilization is important to understand the scope of and reasons for immigrants’ dental disparities, in particular within the context of studies suggesting that self-report of needing dental care is a reliable measure of clinically determined dental problems (Blicher et al 2005; Ramos et al 2013).…”

Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages and the Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome and Its Components

“…Patterns of alcohol consumption and their relationships with health may vary in different populations, depending on age, sex, ethnicity, cultural traditions, socioeconomic status and lifestyle [14,15,16]. The results of previous studies have shown that moderate alcohol consumption was in many populations associated with a lower prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and a lower mortality due to them [2,4].…”

Alcohol‐Related Liver Disease in Latin America: Local Solutions for a Global Problem

“…The influence of acculturation to US mainstream society on alcohol use patterns appears to vary by background (heritage), generational status, and gender. 12 This underlines the importance of tailoring research and intervention programs to examine the impact of alcohol public policies for different countries. The development of these policies must be only the beginning of improvement in all the categories of alcohol public policies.…”

“…For example, among Latin Americans living in the United States, 52% are current drinkers and 9% meet AUD criteria, which is higher than the Latin American prevalence rate (43.7% and 4.9%, respectively). The influence of acculturation to US mainstream society on alcohol use patterns appears to vary by background (heritage), generational status, and gender 12 . This underlines the importance of tailoring research and intervention programs to examine the impact of alcohol public policies for different countries.…”