Dataset Information

Alcohol consumption and health status of family members: health impacts without ingestion.

ABSTRACT: Over several decades, many cohort studies from the medical epidemiology literature have observed that compared with abstainers, moderate drinkers experience lower risk for a range of diseases. It was very difficult to separate the hypothesised physiological protective effect of moderate drinking from its well-correlated confounders in observational study settings.To investigate the association between current alcohol consumption levels of randomly selected family members and the current self-reported health status of other members living within the same family, using a large-scale representative general population survey.Poisson regression models of the association between randomly selected key respondent alcohol consumption and health status of cohabiting family members using data from the 2008, 2009 and 2010 National Health Interview Surveys. Self-reported alcohol consumption of randomly selected key participants and self-reported health status of adult and child (parent reported) family members living in the same household were measured and compared.After controlling for a large range of commonly reported confounders, inverse associations were evident between light and moderate alcohol consumption of key participants and the prevalence of adverse health status among their family members, including children.The superior health status attributed to family members of light and moderate drinkers is highly likely to be spurious and due to residual confounding rather than physiologically protective effects of alcohol. Unaccounted for confounding is likely to underpin apparent 'protective effects' due to moderate drinking commonly reported from observational studies of all-cause mortality, heart disease, stroke and other chronic diseases.

SUBMITTER: Liang W

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3604182 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Alcohol consumption and health status of family members: health impacts without ingestion.

Liang W W Chikritzhs T T

Internal medicine journal 20130901 9

<h4>Background</h4>Over several decades, many cohort studies from the medical epidemiology literature have observed that compared with abstainers, moderate drinkers experience lower risk for a range of diseases. It was very difficult to separate the hypothesised physiological protective effect of moderate drinking from its well-correlated confounders in observational study settings.<h4>Aims</h4>To investigate the association between current alcohol consumption levels of randomly selected family ...[more]

PMID: 23176437

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Project description:OBJECTIVES:This study examined the prevalence of risky drinking by members of parliament (MPs), as well as the relationship between risky drinking and age, years spent as an MP, working outside parliament, awareness of the Parliamentary Health and Wellbeing Service, and probable mental ill health. DESIGN:A survey questionnaire assessed alcohol consumption using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Risky drinking was identified by combining categories of increasing (hazardous), higher (harmful) and probable dependent drinking for those with a total score of 8 or more. Comparator groups from the 2014 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) were used as controls. SETTING:UK House of Commons. PARTICIPANTS:650 MPs. RESULTS:Compared with all 650 MPs, participants (n=146) were more likely to be female (p<0.05) or have an educational qualification (p<0.05). Weighted proportions on AUDIT items were higher than the APMS comparator group for participants who had a drink four or more times a week, 10 or more drinks on a typical drinking day, six or more drinks in one occasion, or felt guilty because of drinking (p<0.01). Weighted percentages for risky drinking were higher in MPs compared with the whole English population (p<0.05), but similar when compared with socioeconomic comparator groups. The odds of risky drinking were 2.74 times greater for MPs who had an additional work role outside parliament compared with those who did not (95% CI 0.98 to 7.65) and 2.4 times greater for MPs with probable mental ill health compared with those with no evidence of probable mental ill health (95% CI 0.78 to 7.43). CONCLUSIONS:A low level of awareness of the Parliamentary Health and Wellbeing Service has implications for improving the detection of risky drinking and improving access to this service by MPs. Possible increased likelihood of risky drinking in MPs who also had an additional work role outside Parliament and among those with probable mental ill health requires further exploration.

Dataset Information

Alcohol consumption and health status of family members: health impacts without ingestion.

Publications

Alcohol consumption and health status of family members: health impacts without ingestion.

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