Past Month Alcohol Intake and Subjective Cognitive Complaints Amongst Men and Women in Ghana

Abstract

Background: Alcohol is widely used globally, and its intake has deleterious effects on cognitive functions. The relationship between alcohol intake and cognition has received extensive scientific investigation elsewhere but with little to no research coming from Ghana. The study examined the relationship between past-month alcohol intake and subjective cognitive complaints (SCCs) amongst men and women controlling for the effects of covariates.Methods: Data of 4358 men and 12483 women aged 18 to 49 years from the Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey Six (GMICS 6) collected between 2017 and 2018 was used. Participants responded to self-report single-item questions measuring past month alcohol use and cognition difficulty levels. Ordered logistic regression models were built separately for men and women in Stata 14. Results: After adjusting for age, education levels, insurance, marital status, rural-urban residence, and region of residence, it was found that past-month alcohol intake was related to high levels of SCCs. However, the size of the odds ratio indicated a slightly higher effect in men [APOR=1.38, 95% CI:1.07, 1.79] than in women [APOR=1.24, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.46]. Other significant relationships between covariates and SCCs are reported. Conclusion: Past month alcohol intake is related to high levels of SCCs of Ghanaian men and women. This finding highlights the need to implement and enforce policies to regulate the harmful use of alcohol amongst Ghanaians.