Brief report
Binge drinking and health-related quality of life: Do popular perceptions match reality?

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2003.10.022Get rights and content

Abstract

Background

Popular culture (movies, television shows, advertising) often portrays drinking to the point of intoxication as either humorous or associated with enjoyable social activities that enhance quality of life. This study examined the association between binge drinking (consuming five or more alcoholic drinks on one occasion) and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among U.S. adults.

Methods

Data are from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a continuous random-digit-dial telephone survey of adults aged ≥18 years conducted in all states. This survey included questions about alcohol consumption and HRQOL.

Results

In 2001, 52% of U.S. adults were current drinkers (one or more drinks in the past 30 days). Of current drinkers, 11% were frequent binge drinkers (three or more episodes in past month) and 14% were infrequent binge drinkers (one to two episodes in past month). After adjusting for confounding factors, frequent binge drinkers were more likely than non-binge drinkers to experience ≥14 unhealthy days (physical or mental) in the past month (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=1.39, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.24–1.56), primarily because they had more mentally unhealthy days than non-binge drinkers (AOR=1.52, 95% CI=1.32–1.75).

Conclusions

Frequent binge drinking is associated with significantly worse HRQOL and mental distress, including stress, depression, and emotional problems. Effective interventions to prevent binge drinking should be widely adopted and may help improve quality of life.

Introduction

Binge drinking (consuming five or more drinks on one occasion)1 is responsible for a substantial proportion of the approximately 100,000 alcohol-related deaths per year in the United States.2 Adverse health and social outcomes associated with this behavior include unintentional injuries, interpersonal violence, suicides, unplanned pregnancy, emotional and legal problems, and lost productivity.3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Nonetheless, binge drinking is commonly portrayed in movies, television shows, and advertising as either humorous or associated with enjoyable social activities that enhance quality of life.10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 Films and television routinely associate alcohol with glamorous or sexually oriented activities,15, 18 and the alcohol beverage industry spends >$2 billion annually on advertising and promotion.20 The purpose of this study was to assess whether binge drinking is associated with an enhanced health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among U.S. adults.

Section snippets

Methods

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a cross-sectional telephone survey operated by state health agencies with assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It represents the non-institutionalized civilian U.S. population aged ≥18 years.21, 22, 23, 24, 25 In 2001, all 50 states and the District of Columbia participated, and 203,021 persons completed the interview.

Respondents who report having at least one drink in the past 30 days were asked: “Considering

Results

Of 99,783 current drinkers, 10.7% (n =10,634) were frequent binge drinkers; 14.2% (n =14,189), infrequent binge drinkers; and 75.1% (n =74,960), non-binge drinkers. Compared with non-binge drinkers, binge drinkers were younger (mean age for frequent binge drinkers, 34.6 years; infrequent binge drinkers, 35.6 years; non-binge drinkers, 45.7 years); more likely to be male; have a high school education or less; never have been married; and to smoke (Table 1). After adjustment for age, frequent

Discussion

This study found that people who binge drink frequently (three or more times per month) are significantly more likely than non-binge drinkers to experience ≥14 unhealthy days (physical or mental) in the past month. This difference is due largely to more mentally unhealthy days (days when they experienced stress, depression, or other emotional difficulties) among frequent binge drinkers. In addition, women and older people (aged ≥55) who are infrequent binge drinkers (one to two times per month)

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the state BRFSS coordinators for their participation in data collection for this analysis, and BRFSS Branch staff for their assistance in developing the database.

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