Defining binge drinking: young drinkers' perceptions of risky alcohol consumption

Young Australian drinkers' awareness, perceptions and behaviours towards low alcohol beverage products

Background: Young Australian drinkers (aged 18-24 years) are more likely to consume alcohol at risky levels than any other age group. The increased availability and diversity of low alcohol beverages (LAB)s available to Australian consumers presents an opportunity for young drinkers to moderate their drinking behaviours. Aim: To explore young risky drinkers' awareness, perceptions and behaviours towards LAB products. Study Type: A cross-sectional online survey of 159 young Australian risky drinkers aged 18-24 years. Methods: Demographic information, LAB awareness, previous consumption and perceptions of LABs reducing alcohol consumption were captured. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's chi-squared analyses and binomial logistic regression were used to explore data. Results: Overall, 51% of respondents had previously consumed LABs, with most doing so on a few occasions. The choice to consume LABs was influenced by factors including friend and family influence (28%), curiosity (28%) and the purposeful intent to reduce alcohol intake (27%). In contrast, factors preventing the consumption of LABs included individuals' intent to get drunk (58%), a lack of consideration of LABs (49%) and the perception that higher strength beverages were more desirable (35%). The majority of respondents (63%) agreed that LAB products would assist them and their peers to moderate alcohol consumption behaviours. Conclusion: The majority of young risky drinkers surveyed have consumed LAB products on a limited number of occasions or not at all. There are several factors likely preventing greater uptake of these products. Further work is required to explore whether greater exposure to the diversity of LAB products can moderate alcohol consumption behaviours.

A review of factors influencing drinking behaviours in young Australian adults using a behavioural framework approach

ISSUES

Young adults (aged 18-24 years) are more likely to binge drink than any other age group in Australia. These behaviours expose young adults to possible adverse events, with potential for acute harms.

APPROACH

A behavioural framework (capability, opportunity, motivation-behaviour [COM-B model]) was used to explore factors that influence the drinking behaviours of young Australian adults. Potential studies were identified by searching four online data bases. Content pertaining to factors moderating young adults' alcohol consumption behaviours (either increasing or decreasing alcohol consumption) in an Australian population was extracted. Factors were then categorised/mapped into the six sub-components of the COM-B model. A narrative synthesis/discussion was subsequently undertaken.

KEY FINDINGS

Factors increasing or reducing alcohol consumption behaviours were identified across all components of the COM-B model. Overall, alcohol consumption behaviours appear strongly influenced by physical and social opportunities, and young adults have reflective and automatic motivations (i.e., habitual processes, emotional responding and analytical decisional making that directs behaviour) to consume alcohol with purpose and/or reason.

IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION

The use of a behavioural framework (e.g., the COM-B model) facilitates an integrated understanding of factors influencing alcohol consumption behaviours. Future harm minimisation strategies need to consider the interrelated, contemporary factors underpinning a young adult's decision to consume alcohol within the context of modern Australian society.

Unhealthy lifestyles and clusters status among 3637 adolescents aged 11-23 years: a school-based cross-sectional study in China

BACKGROUND

Unhealthy lifestyles are risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and tend to be clustered, with a trajectory that extends from adolescence to adulthood. This study investigated the association of diets, tobacco, alcohol, physical activity (PA), screen time (ST) and sleep duration (SD) in a total of six lifestyles, separately and as cumulative lifestyle scores, with sociodemographic characteristics among school-aged adolescents in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou.

METHODS

In the aggregate, 3,637 adolescents aged 11-23 years were included in the study. The questionnaire collected data on socio-demographic characteristics and lifestyles. Healthy and unhealthy lifestyles were identified and scored, depending on the individual score (0 and 1 for healthy and unhealthy lifestyles respectively), with a total score between 0 and 6. Based on the sum of the dichotomous scores, the number of unhealthy lifestyles was calculated and divided into three clusters (0-1, 2-3, 4-6). Chi-square test was used to analyze the group difference of lifestyles and demographic characteristics, and multivariate logistic regression was used to explore the associations between demographic characteristics and the clustering status of unhealthy lifestyles.

RESULTS

Among all participants, the prevalence of unhealthy lifestyles was: 86.4% for diet, 14.5% for alcohol, 6.0% for tobacco, 72.2% for PA, 42.3% for ST and 63.9% for SD. Students who were in university, female, lived in country (OR = 1.725, 95% CI: 1.241-2.398), had low number of close friends (1-2: OR = 2.110, 95% CI: 1.428-3.117; 3-5: OR = 1.601, 95% CI: 1.168-2.195), and had moderate family income (OR = 1.771, 95% CI: 1.208-2.596) were more likely to develop unhealthy lifestyles. In total, unhealthy lifestyles remain highly prevalent among Chinese adolescents.

CONCLUSION

In the future, the establishment of an effective public health policy may improve the lifestyle profile of adolescents. Based on the lifestyle characteristics of different populations reported in our findings, lifestyle optimization can be more efficiently integrated into the daily lives of adolescents. Moreover, it is essential to conduct well-designed prospective studies on adolescents.

Student drinking cultures in tertiary education residential accommodation: A contextual research study

Background: In Australia, harmful drinking among students aged 18-24 years in tertiary education residential accommodation (TRA) remains high, placing students at higher risk of harms than non-TRA and university peers. Aim: The aim of this study was to identify the context-specific factors distinctive to TRAs that supported a heavy drinking culture among students. Conducted across three sites in Melbourne, Australia, the purpose of the study was to inform the development of context-specific harm reduction interventions for these sites. Methods: Five focus groups were conducted with 32 students to examine their lived experience of drinking within the distinctive environments of their TRAs. The data were examined using thematic data analysis. Results: Three themes were identified: (1) routine drinking in TRAs; (2) drinking for social inclusion in the TRA; and (3) TRA alcohol governance and students' self-regulation. The data show that factors contributing to these TRA drinking cultures included: liberty to store alcohol and drink on campus; freshers' belief that admission to the TRA was conditional on "partying hard"; students' belief that staff supported the TRA drinking culture; and poor dissemination and operationalisation of TRA alcohol policy. Collectively, these factors fostered an environment that enabled frequent and heavy alcohol consumption among residents. Conclusions: The TRA drinking cultures were supported by social and regulatory factors specific to these institutions and, in particular, by a liberal approach to TRA alcohol governance and poorly disseminated alcohol policy that made widespread heavy drinking possible. Drinking cultures in TRAs can be changed through appropriate interventions that include nuanced policy and effective governance.

Alcohol's Impact on the Cardiovascular System

Alcohol consumption has been shown to have complex, and sometimes paradoxical, associations with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Several hundred epidemiological studies on this topic have been published in recent decades. In this narrative review, the epidemiological evidence will be examined for the associations between alcohol consumption, including average alcohol consumption, drinking patterns, and alcohol use disorders, and CVDs, including ischaemic heart disease, stroke, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, cardiomyopathy, and heart failure. Methodological shortcomings, such as exposure classification and measurement, reference groups, and confounding variables (measured or unmeasured) are discussed. Based on systematic reviews and meta-analyses, the evidence seems to indicate non-linear relationships with many CVDs. Large-scale longitudinal epidemiological studies with multiple detailed exposure and outcome measurements, and the extensive assessment of genetic and confounding variables, are necessary to elucidate these associations further. Conflicting associations depending on the exposure measurement and CVD outcome are hard to reconcile, and make clinical and public health recommendations difficult. Furthermore, the impact of alcohol on other health outcomes needs to be taken into account. For people who drink alcohol, the less alcohol consumed the better.

Negative Alcohol and Tobacco Consumption Behaviors in an Australian Army Combat Brigade

Introduction

Western militaries have consumption rates of alcohol and tobacco which are higher than the associated civilian populations, and are concerned about the negative effects on health, wellbeing, and military performance that such high rates may have.

Materials and Methods

A survey questionnaire which collected nonidentifiable data was distributed to all accessible members of an Australian Army Combat Brigade over the annual induction training and prefield exercise period between January and March 2019. The survey was composed of personal and demographic questions, followed by questions concerning the personal consumption habits of alcohol and tobacco. 1,606 complete and valid surveys were returned, representing 55.3% of the Brigade’s posted strength. Ethical clearance for this project was provided by the Australian Defence Force Joint Health Command Low Risk Ethics Panel (18-012).

Results

Almost one quarter of the Combat Brigade exceeded the Australian daily risk guideline for alcohol consumption, and over three quarters exceeded the occasion risk guideline; with 6.1% of soldiers drinking alcohol daily. 24.3% identified as tobacco smokers, with 15.9% smoking daily. Smoking rates and volumes were higher when deployed on field training exercises and on international training and operational deployments; as was the consumption of roll-your-own cigarettes. Overall, the main determinants of the negative consumption behaviors were gender (male) and age (under 25).

Conclusions

This study confirmed that the members of an Australian Army Combat Brigade have higher negative health consumption behaviors concerning alcohol and tobacco than the general civilian population. The results also identified a cohort of Senior Non-Commissioned Officers and Warrant Officers (E5–E9) between the ages of 35 and 44 who had high negative consumption behaviors which could result in poor health outcomes. This could be a suitable cohort for a targeted campaign to reduce tobacco and alcohol consumption and to assist to make healthy life changes.