Trends in Alcohol Consumption for Korean Adults from 1998 to 2018: Korea National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey

Abstract

Drinking culture has been well developed in Korea. This research assessed trends in daily pure alcohol consumption over time and examined its trends regarding socio-demographic variables and alcoholic beverage types. We used data from the 1998–2018 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. A total of 87,623 adults aged ≥ 19 years were included. Alcohol intake was assessed via 24-h dietary recall, and pure alcohol content was calculated according to alcoholic beverage type. Daily alcohol consumption increased from 8.37 g in 1998 to 14.98 g in 2016–2018 (p for trend < 0.001). The degree of the increasing trend was higher for women (2.09 g to 5.79 g) than men (14.78 g to 23.94 g) from 1998 to 2016–2018. Alcohol intake was highest in men aged 30–49 years and women aged 19–29 years. Moreover, the change of the rising trend in alcohol consumption according to high socioeconomic factors was more pronounced than the other variables. Lastly, the alcohol intake from soju and beer was dominant in alcohol consumption and escalated over time. The total daily alcohol intake increased about two times during 21 years in Korea, and the trends varied according to socio-demographic status.

A Dose–Response Relationship of Alcohol Consumption with Risk of Visual Impairment in Korean Adults: The Kangbuk Samsung Health Study

“…Different types of alcohol are important because alcohol-related harm may differ by types of alcoholic beverage [57,58]. In Korea, soju and beer are the most common sources of alcohol [59], which is consistent with our data. However, it is difficult to analyze the type of alcohol owing to the Korean drinking culture of consuming "bomb cocktails," a drinking habit of mixing two or more types of alcohol, which makes it difficult to estimate the effect of individual types of alcoholic beverages.…”

Lower risk of depression after smoking cessation and alcohol abstinence in patients with gastric cancer who underwent gastrectomy: A population‐based, nationwide cohort study

“…Also, female and older patients generally tend to smoke and drink less compared with male and younger patients. [42][43][44][45] Effects of smoking cessation and alcohol abstinence in these patient might not be as effective as in male and younger patients. In addition, it is possible that the subgroup analyses examining the effect of smoking cessation and alcohol abstinence among female participants may have been underpowered compared with male participants because a smaller number of female participants reported smoking or alcohol intake.…”

“…The protective effects of smoking cessation and alcohol abstinence might have been offset in these high‐risk patients. Also, female and older patients generally tend to smoke and drink less compared with male and younger patients 42–45 . Effects of smoking cessation and alcohol abstinence in these patient might not be as effective as in male and younger patients.…”

Frequent low dose alcohol intake increases gastric cancer risk: the Health Examinees-Gem (HEXA-G) study

“…In many developed countries, including the United States, approximately 90% of drinkers have already begun drinking at the age of 21 43 . In Korea, the average initiation age of drinking is 21.3 years, an age much younger than the common age of cohort enrollment; moreover, the age group of 30-49 years has been observed to consume the largest amount of alcohol 44 . Therefore, the average age of many cohort participants might not be representative of that of drinkers.…”