Alcohol and Alcoholism, Vol 34, 65-70, Copyright © 1999 by Medical Council on Alcoholism
K Seppa, T Pikaajarvi and P Sillanaukee
This longitudinal study aimed at comparing aggregate measures of heavy or
problems drinking and their variations across time among the same subjects.
We examined middle-aged men participating in a health survey over a 5-year
interval. Of the 133 consecutive men in the whole age group interviewed as
40-year-olds in 1989, 114 were reached and re-interviewed in 1994. Alcohol
consumption was measured by self-report. Malmo-modified Michigan
Alcoholism Screening Test (Mm-decreased with years (142 vs 105 g/week,
P
ARTICLES
Alcohol consumption profile by time in middle-aged men: a longitudinal study based on three different diagnostic instruments
University of Tampere, Medical School, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere City Health Centre, Tampere, Finland; Pharmacia and Upjohn, Diagnostics and Alcohol Related Diseases, Uppsala, Sweden; Corresponding author address: University of Tampere, Medical School, FIN-33101 Tampere, Finland
0.01), as did CDT (16.9 vs 14.4 U/l,
P0.02), but there was no change in the Mm-MAST
results. There was no significant difference in the number of heavy
drinkers (either Mm-Mast score 3, or by self-reported alcohol
consumption 280 g/week, or by CDT 20 U/l) at 40 and 45
years of age (37 and 47% respectively). At the individual level, alcohol
consumption both increased and decreased with age. At 45 years of age 5/114
(4%) of the men reported that they had increased their alcohol consumption
by more than 80 g/week and 25/114 (22%) said that they had reduced their
drinking by the same amount. The remaining 84 (74%) reported drinking the
same amount as 5 years earlier (
80
g/week). This indicates that alcohol drinking habits are not stable in
middle age. Most heavy drinkers in both age groups were detected by Mm-MAST
and this proportion increased with age while the proportion of positive
self-reports and CDTs decreased. Thus, the social consequences, measured
here by the Mm-MAST, may be more readily experienced with years even at
smaller consumption levels.
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