Spatial Association Patterns of Binge Drinking, Alcohol Outlet Density, and Early Started Drinking in Thailand

Abstract

Thailand had a higher prevalence of binge drinking (BD) behaviors which put them at risks of morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to determine the spatial association of BD and its associated factors among the population of Thailand. This study was conducted using a data set of the National Statistical Office of Thailand and another data set of the Center for Alcohol Studies, Thailand, in 2017. A Moran's I, Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA), and Spatial regression were used to identify the spatial autocorrelation between alcohol outlet density, started drinking before 20 years of age, and BD among Thai people. According to the results, among 61,708 participants, the prevalence of BD was 11.47 per 1,000 population. There was global spatial autocorrelation between alcohol outlet density, start drinking before 20 years, and BD with the Moran's I values of 0.10 and 0.54, respectively. The LISA analysis identified significant positive spatial local autocorrelation of BD in the form of two high-high clusters for density of alcohol outlets and seven high-high clusters of started drinking before the age of 20. Started drinking before 20 years of age could predict binge drinking behaviors by 62.8 percent. There were spatial associations between alcohol outlet density and problems with alcoholic beverage control law enforcement that let the youngsters start drinking before 20. It is a general recommendation to strictly enforce the law in prohibited the underage from consuming alcohol, especially in the high density of alcohol outlets.

Health determinant factors associated with smoking behaviour of older adults in Thailand

“…Older adults who continue to consume alcohol are more unlikely to quit smoking than those who do not. There is a potential conflict in Thailand's aging society as a result of the relationship of smoking with some form of community culture [35][36][37] .…”