Janaina Barbosa de Oliveira

Drinking patterns between men and women in two distinct Brazilian communities

OBJECTIVE A survey was conducted to compare gender differences in patterns of drinking in two stratified, urban and representative samples from two communities (B and RJr). METHOD The Genacis (Gender, Alcohol, and Culture: an International Study) questionnaire was used. RESULTS There were several significant differences in the demographics and patterns of alcohol use between these two samples. One had an older, more Catholic, educated, Caucasian population, with more women in the labor force. Data from B community showed that women and men had similar patterns of drinking. RJr had much higher use of alcohol among men, and almost 22% of those under 49 years old were binge drinkers. DISCUSSION Access, smoking, income and having a heavy drinker partner were important risk factors for womens drinking. CONCLUSIONS This study shows that when womens roles become more similar to mens, so do their drinking patterns.

Violência entre parceiros íntimos e álcool: prevalência e fatores associados

OBJETIVO: Estimar a violencia fisica entre parceiros intimos e examinar a associacao entre a violencia e variaveis sociodemograficas, uso de alcool e outros fatores relacionados. METODO: Inquerito epidemiologico realizado com amostra probabilistica estratificada por conglomerados, representativa dos niveis socioeconomicos e educacionais do Municipio de Sao Paulo, que utilizou o questionario do projeto multidisciplinar internacional GENACIS (Gender, Alcohol and Culture: An International Study). A unidade amostral foi o domicilio, onde todas as pessoas maiores de 18 anos eram candidatas a entrevista. A amostra final incluiu 1 631 pessoas. A analise estatistica utilizou o teste de Rao Scott e regressao logistica. RESULTADOS: A taxa de resposta foi de 74,5%. Predominaram mulheres (58,8%) e pessoas com menos de 40 anos de idade (52%) e com 5 a 12 anos de escolaridade. Nesse grupo, 5,4% relataram ter sido vitimas de violencia fisica por parceiro intimo e 5,4% ter sido agressores de parceiros intimos nos ultimos 2 anos. Predominou entre os homens o relato de que, na ocasiao da agressao, ninguem havia bebido e, entre as mulheres, de que ninguem ou apenas o homem o havia feito. Ser vitima, assim como ser agressor, associou-se a ser mais jovem e ter um parceiro com consumo pesado de alcool. Homens vitimas estiveram associados a baixa renda. As mulheres sofreram agressoes mais graves, necessitando de cuidados medicos e, diante da agressao, expressaram mais raiva e aborrecimento quando comparadas aos homens. CONCLUSOES: Os resultados ressaltam a importância da associacao entre uso de alcool e risco de agressao entre parceiros intimos e tem importantes implicacoes para a elaboracao de politicas publicas que enfocam esse problema.

Alcohol use and falls among the elderly in Metropolitan São Paulo, Brazil

The objectives of this study are to identify the pattern of alcohol use among the elderly and to analyze its association with falls. A population-based survey was conducted in a sample of Metropolitan São Paulo, Brazil, using the GENACIS questionnaire, Gender, Alcohol and Culture: An International Study. Adjusted prevalence ratios were calculated using Poisson Regression with robust variance, and the dependent variable was the occurrence of falls. Interviews were carried out with 432 subjects whose average age was 69.5 years. Regarding alcohol use 50.9% were lifetime abstainers, 25.5% had not drunk in the previous year and 23.6% were current drinkers. Among the latter, 14 (13.7%) were heavy drinkers. In the previous year 24.5% people had falls, which were associated with being a heavy drinker and being older. Although a relationship between being a heavy drinker and falls found in this survey does not allow for inferences on causality, this association supports the hypothesis that alcohol abuse in later life might be related with health problems.

Gender differences in heavy alcohol use: A general population survey (the Genacis Project) of São Paulo City, Brazil.

The article examines patterns of alcohol consumption in a community sample from São Paulo City, Brazil. A household survey-was carried out with a representative urban sample, stratified by clusters. The GENACIS questionnaire was used in 1473 face-to-face interviews. There was a predominance of females (58.7%) and those under 40 years of age (53.2%). For both genders heavy drinking (HD) was associated with having an HD partner and feeling less inhibited about sex when drinking. For men HD was associated with a younger age (p = 0.006) and for women with drinking alone (< 0.001). A positive attitude towards drinking and sex and having a partner who also was a heavy drinker were thus predictors of HD for both genders. Younger men and women drinking alone were more at risk of heavy drinking.

Alcohol screening instruments in elderly male: a population-based survey in metropolitan São Paulo, Brazil

OBJECTIVE This study compares the efficacy of the AUDIT (gold standard) with the more easily and quickly applied instruments CAGE, TWEAK, and T-ACE for men aged > 60 using data from a representative stratified sample of the general population of metropolitan São Paulo. METHOD The GENACIS questionnaire was administered to a total sample of 2,083 people aged over 18, with a response rate of 74.5%. The elderly male sample consisted of 169 men. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, and confidence intervals were calculated for each instrument (95% CI). RESULTS Respondents were predominantly married (81.7%), had up to 11 years of education (61.3%) and a monthly per capita income of up to 300 US dollars. Current abstinence rate was high (61.6%) and 38% reported being former drinkers. There were no statistically significant differences among the instruments tested; however, the TWEAK had a higher area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (95% CI; 0.90-0.99). CONCLUSION Research in the general population with screening instruments is scarce, especially among the elderly. However, it can provide specific information concerning this age group and be useful in the formulation of policies and prevention strategies.

Expectativas positivas com o uso de álcool e o beber se embriagando: diferenças de gênero em estudo do Projeto GENACIS, São Paulo, Brasil

The objective was to investigate expectations towards alcohol use among men and women and the association between these expectations and binge drinking (or heavy episodic drinking). An epidemiological cross-sectional population-based household survey with a stratified probabilistic sample was conducted in Greater Metropolitan Sao Paulo, Brazil. Males and females were interviewed (n = 2,083) with the GENACIS questionnaire (Gender, Alcohol, and Culture: an International Study). The dependent variable was binge drinking, and logistic regression models were constructed for each gender, adjusting for age, schooling, and income. All expectations, with the exception of increased ease in talking with ones partner, were associated with binge drinking. The study shows that binge drinking can be associated with expectations towards alcohol use. Understanding such expectations can contribute to the design of effective polices to prevent binge drinking.

Validity of alcohol screening instruments in general population gender studies: an analytical review.

The present study is an analytical review of the methodology used in studies of efficacy of screening instruments to detect harmful use/ alcohol dependence according to the gender in population surveys. Systematic review of bibliography was done, using data from Web of Science, Pubmed and PsycInfo. Population studies were included without date range, in English, Spanish or Portuguese languages, with sample of adults, evaluating psychometric characteristics of any alcohol screening instrument, whereas studies in special population or under treatment as well as prevalence of alcohol consumption were excluded. Thirteen studies were selected to be included in the present review. According to the studies, the instruments that presented a better performance among men were AUDIT and its derivatives (6 studies) and CAGE (2 studies), whereas among women, AUDIT and its derivatives (7 studies), followed by CAGE (3 studies). The increase of consumption and problems related to alcohol use and its implications for public health indicate the need and urgency for adequacy of screening instruments to differences of gender in general population. The population surveys in the area are scarce. Furthermore, the found studies present heterogeneous methodology which makes accurate comparisons difficult.