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The Health
of Children and Young People
 2 Alcohol consumption
2.1 Introduction
This chapter looks at reported alcohol consumption separately
for informants aged 8-15 (Section 2.2) and for those aged 16-24 (Sections
2.3, 2.4 and 2.5). Since the inception of the Health Survey, the questions
on alcohol consumption addressed to adults (aged 16 and over) have been
designed to estimate average weekly consumption. Until late 1995, advice
to adults on alcohol consumption had been expressed in terms of weekly
consumption levels (not to exceed 21 units a week for men and 14 units
for women).1 Towards the end of 1995, advice on sensible drinking
was revised to reflect the recommendations of an inter-departmental Working
Group, so that it is now commonly expressed in terms of daily, rather
than weekly, consumption.2 It also reflects evidence that moderate
consumption may be beneficial for certain groups of the population. Current
advice about sensible drinking is that:
There is no significant health risk for men (of all ages)
who regularly consume between 3 and 4 units a day and for women (of all
ages) who regularly consume between 2 and 3 units a day.
Regular drinking of 4 or more units a day for men, or 3 or more a day for women, is likely to result in increasing health risk and is not advised. The health of men over 40 and of post-menopausal women can benefit from drinking between 1 and 2 units a day. As a result of these changes in advice on sensible drinking, additional questions were added in the 1997, and all subsequent, Health Surveys to provide some information on daily consumption by asking about drinking in the week before the interview. This chapter includes results from the questions on drinking in the past week (Section 2.4), as well as giving estimates on weekly consumption including the proportion of young adults exceeding the weekly levels advised before 1996, since these are still the most widely used figures in public health (Section 2.3). First, Section 2.2 looks at alcohol consumption among children aged 8-15. The results shown in this chapter are based on all children and young adults aged 8-24 combined from both the 2001 and the 2002 Health Surveys (and are referred to in this chapter as 'HSE 2002'). Where comparisons are made with results from the 1997 report, it is with children and young adults combined from the Health Surveys for 1995, 1996 and 1997 (referred to as 'HSE 1997'). The comparisons of daily drinking (included in Section 2.4.6) are made with the 1998 Health Survey, which is the year these specific questions were first asked. 2.2 Alcohol consumption among
children aged 8-15
2.2.1 Asking about children's consumption of alcohol
Children aged under 8 were not asked any questions about
drinking. Children aged 8-12 were asked whether they had ever drunk a
whole alcoholic drink (not just tasted one), the age when they first did
so, and how often they drank nowadays. Children aged 13-15 were asked
these questions too, and were also asked to provide details of their consumption
in the last week (which is considered easier for children to recall than
'typical' weekly consumption over the last year).
As children may wish to conceal their drinking behaviour from their parents, all information was provided as part of a self-completion questionnaire in order to increase the confidentiality of their responses. However, there remains a risk with a home interview survey that children will under-report behaviours such as alcohol consumption because of worries that their parents will see their answers. As Chapter 1 (Section 1.4) shows, analysis of saliva cotinine levels have suggested significant under-reporting of smoking behaviour in this age group despite the use of a self-completion questionnaire, and it is likely that the same will apply to self-reports of alcohol use. Comparisons with surveys of children's drinking behaviour carried out in schools have suggested that a home-based interview does in fact lead to under-reports of drinking as well as smoking behaviour (see Section 2.2.3).3
2.2.2 Experience of alcohol among
children aged 8-15
Table 2.1 and Figure 2A show reported experience of drinking
by single age years, separately for boys and girls. (Figure 2A also shows
data for HSE 1997, discussed in Section 2.2.7.) At age 8, 14% of boys
and 8% of girls said they had had a proper alcoholic drink (not just a
taste). By age 15, 87% of boys and 86% of girls had had a drink. Boys
were significantly more likely than girls to report drinking alcohol up
to about age 11, after which the gap between the sexes disappeared. Table
2.1, Figure 2A
2.2.3 Comparison with the survey of
Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use Among Young People
In this section, comparison is made with the results
obtained from the 2002 survey of Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use Among
Young People (SDD), which was carried out amongst secondary school children
aged 11-15 in England.4 The comparison is complicated by a
change in the questioning introduced into the Health Survey in 1999. Up
to that time, children had been asked simply whether they had ever had
a proper alcoholic drink. (This is the same as the question used in SDD.)
From 1999, however, children interviewed in the Health Survey who answered
no to the above question were then asked whether they have also drunk
alcopops. Children who answered yes to either question were regarded as
having experience of alcohol.
In the table below, two different results from HSE (2001 and 2002 combined) are compared with the SDD 2002 results. The first column shows, for boys, the proportion who have experienced alcohol as defined by the single question used in the Health Survey before 1999 and used by SDD. The second column shows the result obtained by the subsequent two-question method. The third shows the SDD result. The fourth, fifth and six columns show comparable figures for girls.
It will be seen that the HSE single question produces
considerably lower estimates than SDD, a fact that was commented on in
reports prior to 1999, when this was the only question used. It was believed
that the lower prevalences this question obtained in the Health Surveys
may reflect some children's wishes that their parents should not become
aware of the extent of their drinking. Although they are provided with
a self-completion questionnaire for confidential response, the fact that
this is completed within the home may make some children wary. It is interesting
to note that the revised Health Survey questioning gives results that
are of the same broad order of magnitude as the SDD results.
2.2.4 Reported frequency of drinking alcohol by children aged 8-15
Most children under age 16 are unlikely to have developed
regular drinking patterns, so a question on usual frequency may well be
difficult for them to answer. Under age 12, there was very little self-reporting
of current alcohol consumption, with most children saying they never drank
or drank only a few times a year. Frequency of consumption increased between
ages 13 and 15, and by age 15 about one in four informants said they drank
at least once a week (26% boys, 22% girls). Overall, among children aged
8-15, 6% of boys and 5% of girls reported drinking once a week or more. Table
2.2, Figure 2B
 For reasons already discussed (in Section 2.2.3), HSE 2002 showed much less frequent drinking than was found in the 2002 schools-based SDD survey.
Frequency of drinking among those aged 8-15 did not show
any consistent patterns in terms of socio-economic status. Among boys,
frequency of drinking appeared to increase as equivalised household income
increased, but this pattern was less consistent among girls. There were
some regional differences, with boys and girls in East England reporting
the lowest frequencies of drinking, while those in the South West, East
Midlands and (for boys only) Yorkshire & the Humber reported the highest. Tables
2.3, 2.4, 2.5
2.2.5 Prevalence of alcohol consumption
in the past week by children aged 13-15
Children aged 13-15 were asked which types of drink,
and how much, they had consumed over the past seven days. Just over one
in five boys and girls said they had drunk some alcohol in the past seven
days (22% for each sex). Drinking in the past week increased with age:
among boys, from 12% at age 13 to 18% at age 14 to 37% at age 15; while
among girls, the figures were 9%, 22% and 37% respectively. These are
lower than the figures obtained in the SDD Survey, where the proportions
drinking in the last week were: for boys, 20% at age 13, 34% at age 14
and 49% at age 15; and for girls, 21%, 34% and 45% respectively.
Among boys who had drunk in the past week, the mean number
of units consumed increased from 6.4 at age 13 to 8.8 at age 14 and to
10.6 at age 15. For girls, the mean number of units were 3.5, 4.4 and
6.8 respectively. Like the proportions drinking in the last week, these
estimates are lower than those obtained in the SDD survey, and are likely
to be under-estimates. Table 2.6
2.2.6 Types of alcoholic drink consumed
in the last week by children aged 13-15
Table 2.7 shows the types of alcoholic drink consumed
by children aged 13-15 in the last week. Boys were most likely to report
drinking beer, lager, cider and shandy (17%), followed by alcoholic soft
drinks (10%), spirits (7%) and wine (6%). Girls were most likely to drink
alcoholic soft drinks (14%), with similar proportions drinking spirits
(10%), beer, lager, cider, shandy (9%) and wine (9%). Table 2.7
2.2.7 Trends in alcohol consumption
by children aged 8-15
Although assessing trends in alcohol consumption among
children over time is complicated by the various changes in question wording
that have been introduced since 1997, there is sufficient commonality
between the 1997 and 2002 Health Surveys to enable comparisons to be made.
As Table 2.1 and Figure 2A show, the proportion of boys and girls who
reported drinking alcohol was much higher in HSE 2002 than in HSE 1997,
especially up to age 11 where the proportions in the most recent survey
were two to three times higher than five years before. This is partly
explained by the question changes introduced in 1999 (as described in
Section 2.2.3). However, if the comparison is made only on the basis of
the first question asked in 2002, there still remains a large increase
since HSE 1997 in the proportion of children who reported drinking in
2002, with the increase over time being higher for boys than for girls.5 Table
2.1, Figure 2A
In contrast to the substantial increase in the proportion saying they had ever tried alcohol, the proportion of children saying they drank alcohol at least once a week did not change much between HSE 1997 and HSE 2002. As Table 2.2 and Figure 2B show, it was only at age 15 that this proportion was significantly higher in 2002, for both sexes: for boys aged 15 the increase was from 19% in HSE 1997 to 26% in HSE 2002, and for girls aged 15 it was from 15% to 22%. Table 2.2, Figure 2B
Fewer children aged 13-15 in HSE 2002 than in HSE 1997
said they had an alcoholic drink in the past week: in 2002, 22% of boys
and girls drank in the past week, compared with 31% of boys and 29% of
girls in HSE 1997 (which may be partly explained by the different questions
asked in 1997 and 2002).6 However, among those children aged
13-15 who did drink in the past week, mean consumption increased from
5.1 units in HSE 1997 to 9.3 units in HSE 2002 for boys, and from 3.8
to 5.6 units for girls. Table 2.6
Although the proportion of children aged 13-15 who reported drinking any alcohol in the past week declined since HSE 1997, the proportion who said they had an alcoholic soft drink in the past seven days increased since then: from 7% to 10% for boys, and from 11% to 14% for girls (although the increase for girls was not statistically significant). The proportion drinking spirits in the past week also increased since HSE 1997, for boys from 4% to 7% and for girls from 7% to 10%. (Table not shown.) These results are consistent with findings from the 2002 schools-based SDD survey.7
2.3 Weekly alcohol consumption
among young adults aged 16-24
2.3.1 Estimating weekly alcohol consumption of those aged
16-24
Young adults aged 16-24 were asked whether they ever
drank alcohol nowadays. Those who said they did were asked how often they
had usually drunk, during the past twelve months, six different types
of alcohol (normal strength beer/lager/stout/cider/shandy; strong beer/lager/cider;
wine; sherry and martini; spirits and liqueurs; and alcoholic soft drinks),
and how much they had usually drunk on each occasion. The responses were
converted into units of alcohol and multiplied by the average number of
drinking days per week to provide an estimate of weekly amounts consumed.8
For informants aged 16-17, information on alcohol consumption was collected
as part of a special smoking and drinking self-completion questionnaire.
For those aged 18-24 it was collected as part of the face-to-face interview
(except in a small number of cases where the interviewer felt the responses
might be unduly affected by the presence of other household members, in
which case the 16/17 self-completion questionnaire was given to informants
to complete).
The module of questions on drinking has been asked in the same format since the 1998 Health Survey, but differs slightly from the questions asked in 1997, the last Health Survey report to focus on children and young people.9
It is well known that surveys underestimate alcohol consumption,
for example, in relation to data on alcohol sales in England. This is
likely to occur for a number of reasons, including problems of memory
and the difficulties involved in assigning an average estimate to an activity
that varies from day to day. Also, because the questions refer to 'usual'
behaviour, occasions of heavier drinking are likely to be omitted by informants.
It is also possible that some of the problems relating to a home based
survey that pertain to younger children (such as the presence of parents)
will also apply to young adults, albeit to a lesser extent. Despite these
problems, however, survey estimates still provide useful comparisons of
different population sub-groups and trends over time.
2.3.2 Frequency of drinking alcoholic
drinks among young adults aged 16-24
Table 2.8 shows how many days a week informants said
they usually drank (any type of) alcoholic drink. 10% of young men and
12% of young women aged 16-24 said they did not currently drink alcohol
(9% of both sexes said they had never drunk alcohol). As Table 2.8 shows,
variations by age were greater for young men than for young women. At
age 16, 18% of young men said they did not drink alcohol nowadays (nearly
all of whom said they had never drunk alcohol). The proportion decreased
to 5% at age 23 and 6% at age 24. Among young women, the corresponding
proportions saying they were non-drinkers were 13% at age 16 and 10% at
age 24. Table 2.8
A higher proportion of young men than of young women reported regular drinking habits. 70% of young men said they drank at least one day a week and one-third (34%) usually drank at least three days a week. Among young women, 57% drank at least once day a week and one-fifth (20%) drank three days each week.
Reported frequency of drinking is positively correlated
with equivalised household income. As Figure 2C shows, the proportion
of non-drinking young adults was greatest in households in the lowest
income quintile (18% for both young men and women). On the other hand,
the proportion of both young men and women who usually drink on three
or more days a week increased with equivalised household income: for
young men from 28% in the lowest income quintile to 41% in the highest,
and for young women from 15% to 31% respectively. Figure 2C
 2.3.3 Level of weekly alcohol
consumption among young adults aged 16-24
Usual weekly consumption
levels
Among those aged 16-24, over two in five young men (42%) reported drinking more than 21 units of alcohol a week, and 14% drank over 50 units. Mean consumption was estimated as 25.4 weekly units (as mentioned previously, this mean includes non-drinkers, who are given a value of zero units per week). Alcohol consumption among young men increased sharply from age 16 to age 20, and peaked at about age 20 and 21, after which it decreased slightly at ages 22 to 24. Men's estimated mean weekly consumption was three times higher at age 21 (33.1 units) than at age 16 (11.0 units). About half of young men aged 19-23 consumed more than 21 units a week. Among young women, one in three (32%) reported drinking over 14 units a week, and 8% over 35. Mean weekly consumption was estimated as 12.8 units for young women. The pattern for young women was similar to that for men. There was a sharp increase in consumption between ages 16 and 18, with estimated mean weekly units rising from 8.2 at 16 to 15.1 at 18. Consumption then remained at that level till about age 20, after which it decreased gradually for each age year, down to 11.2 units by age 24. Over one-third of young women aged 18-20 exceeded 14 units per week. Table 2.9 Figure 2D shows the proportion of young men and women drinking more than 21 (males)/14 (females) units a week (in HSE 2002 and in HSE 1997). As is apparent from the diagram, up to age 18, young men were no more likely to exceed 21 units a week than young women were to exceed 14 units; from ages 19 to 24, however, young men were much more likely to drink more than 21 units a week than young women were to exceed 14 units. Table 2.10, Figure 2D
Table 2.14 shows the estimated mean number of alcohol
units consumed for each type of drink. Among young men, out of total consumption
of 25.4 units a week, (normal strength) beer consumption (15.7 units)
was much higher than for any other drink. Beer comprised three-fifths
of alcohol consumed by young men. Men's weekly beer consumption increased
from 5.5 units at age 16 to a peak of 20.5 units at age 20, and then declined
slightly. After beer, men's second highest mean consumption was alcoholic
soft drinks at ages 16-17, but this changed to spirits for ages 18-24.
Of 12.8 weekly units consumed by young women aged 16-24, 3.7 units were spirits, 3.3 were beer (normal strength) and 2.9 were alcoholic soft drinks. Table 2.14
2.3.4 Weekly alcohol consumption by
young adults aged 16-24, by socio-economic
classification (NS-SEC) and
equivalised household income
For informants aged 16-24, there were no clear patterns in alcohol consumption by socio-economic classification. Only one difference in Table 2.11 is notable: young women living in households classified in the semi-routine and routine occupational grouping were the least likely to consume more than 14 units a week (26%), and they had the lowest mean level of consumption (10.7 units per week). Table 2.11
Young men's consumption of alcohol did not vary much
by equivalised household income, but young women's did: mean weekly consumption
was lowest for young women living in households in the bottom income quintile
(10.6 units), and women's levels of consumption gradually increased with
income (so that in the highest income quintile mean consumption was 15.2
units). Table 2.12
2.3.5 Trends in weekly alcohol
consumption for young adults aged 16-24
This section looks at trends over time in usual weekly alcohol consumption for young adults aged 16-24. While small changes have been made to the drinking questions for adults since the 1997 Health Survey, there is no evidence to suggest that these would significantly affect comparisons over the past five years.
Figures 2E and 2F show, for young adults of both sexes,
that there was little change between HSE 1997 and HSE 2002 in the proportion
of non-drinkers. These diagrams also show that the proportions of young
men and women drinking on three or more days a week have not gone up
since HSE 1997, and may even have declined somewhat (at least up to
age 22 or 23). Overall, young men in HSE 2002 were slightly less likely
than those in HSE 1997 to report drinking on three or more days a week
(38% in HSE 1997 compared with 34% in HSE 2002). The proportion for
women overall did not change appreciably between the years (HSE 1997
21%, HSE 2002 20%). Figures 2E, 2F
  However, as Table 2.10 and Figure 2D show, the proportion
of young adults exceeding 21 (male)/14 (female) units a week increased
significantly between HSE 1997 and HSE 2002: for young men from 33% in
HSE 1997 to 42% in HSE 2002 and for young women from 22% to 32%. This
increase since HSE 1997 can be seen to apply to every age year. Similarly,
mean weekly consumption also increased over this five year period for
every age year as well as for all young people: from 19.7 to 25.4 units
for all young men aged 16-24, and from 9.2 to 12.8 units for young women.
Since reported frequency of drinking did not change since HSE 1997, the
results suggest that young adults are reporting higher levels of consumption
on the days they drink (also see Section 2.4.6). Table 2.10, Figure
2D
For young men, the proportion drinking in the past week increased with age from 48% at age 16 to 84% at age 23. For young women, it increased from 50% at age 16 to 68% at age 18, and then remained at about that level up to age 24. Table 2.15
2.4 Daily alcohol consumption
by young adults aged 16-24
2.4.1 Estimating daily consumption
Informants were asked whether they had drunk any alcohol
in the last seven days. Those who had were asked the number of days on
which they drank and, if on more than one, whether they drank the same
amount each day or more on one day than others. If they drank on only
one day, they were asked how much they drank on that day. If they drank
the same amount on more than one day, they were asked their consumption
on the most recent of those days. If they drank more on one day than others,
they were asked how much they drank on the heaviest of those days. In
each case, informants were asked for the details of amounts drunk for
each type of drink (similar to the questions on average weekly consumption),
which were then converted to units of alcohol consumed. By combining these
estimates, it is possible to derive an estimate for the heaviest day's
consumption out of the last seven.
2.4.2 Frequency of drinking in the
past week by young adults aged 16-24
Overall, 73% of young men said they had consumed alcohol on one or more days in the past week: 19% had drunk on only one day and 19% on two days, with decreasing proportions for three (13%), four (9%), five (4%), six (4%) and all seven days (5%). The mean number of days on which alcohol was consumed was 2.1 out of seven days (based on all young men, not on those who had drunk in the last week).
Among young women, 65% reported drinking on one or more
days in the past week, and they were more likely than young men to drink
on only one day (24% compared with 19% of young men). At 1.5 days out
of seven, the mean for young women was also lower than for young men.
2.4.3 Amounts consumed on the heaviest
drinking day in the past week by young adults aged 16-24
Table 2.16 shows amounts consumed on the heaviest (or only) drinking day, based on informants aged 16-24 who had a drink in the last week. The data collected is not sufficient to determine whether current advice on sensible drinking is being followed (as described in Section 2.1), since the advice refers to 'regular' drinking rather than consumption on a single day.
Although there is no generally accepted criterion to
define 'binge' drinking, drinking an excessive amount on a single occasion
is thought to be less healthy than drinking moderate amounts more regularly.
The Health Survey, like various other reports on the issue, uses 8 units
for men and 6 for women as proxies for binge drinking criteria. These
levels are reported on in this section, along with the 4 units (males)/3
units (females) per day which current government recommendations say should
not be regularly exceeded.
Among young men who drank in the past week, four in five
(81%) drank 4 or more units on their heaviest drinking day, and three
in five (61%) drank 8 or more units. (Based on all young men aged 16-24,
not just those who drank in the past week, the proportions are 59% and
44% respectively.) Among last week drinkers, mean consumption was 11.2
units on the heaviest drinking day (or 8.2 units based on all young men
aged 16-24). While the proportions exceeding these amounts were slightly
lower for young men aged 16, for ages from 17 to 24 there was little variation.
Table 2.16
Among young women who drank in the past week, three in four (77%) drank 3 or more units, and half (52%) 6 or more units, on their heaviest drinking day. (Based on all young women aged 16-24, not only those who drank in the past week, the proportions were 50% and 34% respectively.) Mean consumption was 6.7 units among last week drinkers (4.3 units based on all young women aged 16-24). As in the case of young men, there was little variation among young women by age. 2.4.4 Variations in daily drinking
for young adults aged 16-24
There were no clear patterns in the proportions exceeding the daily limits by socio-economic classification or income. There was some variation by Government Office Region. Broadly, young men living in the northern regions who drank in the past week were more likely than those in southern regions to exceed 4 and 8 units on their heaviest drinking day. For example, the proportion of young men drinking 8 or more units ranged from 56% in East England to 67% in Yorkshire & the Humber. Among young women, the range between regions in the proportion drinking 3 or more units a day was greater than for young men, and looking at consumption of 6 or more units per day, two regions in particular stood out: North East and Yorkshire & the Humber were the most likely to exceed this level (67% and 60% respectively). Tables 2.17, 2.18, 2.19
2.4.5 Daily drinking in the past
week by frequency of drinking, for young adults aged 16-24
The table below examines the relationship between the number of units consumed on the heaviest drinking day (for those who had a drink in the past week) and usual frequency of drinking. As the table shows, daily consumption increased along with reported usual frequency of drinking. Young adults who said they usually drink on only 1-2 days a month were less likely than those drinking more frequently to drink 8 or more (male)/6 or more (female) units, and to have lower mean consumption (7.0 units for young men and 4.5 for young women), on their heaviest drinking day in the last week. Informants who drank on 5-6 days a week were the most likely to drink 8 or more (male)/6 or more (female) units (79% of young men and 74% of young women) and had much higher levels of mean consumption (14.7 units for young men and 9.1 for young women) on their heaviest drinking day.
Note: Figures in brackets indicate unweighted bases smaller
than 50.
The second part of the table shows the relationship between the number of units drunk on the heaviest drinking day in the last week and the number of days informants said they drank during that week. The relationship is the same as that for usual frequency of drinking: informants who drank on five or more days in the last week tended to have much higher levels of consumption than did those who drank on only one or two days. For example, among young men who drank on five days out of the previous seven, 79% drank more than 8 units on their heaviest drinking day, and their mean consumption was 15.2 units; by contrast, only 39% of young men who drank on only one day consumed more than 8 units, and their mean consumption was 7.5 units. The pattern for young women was very similar.
The data on daily drinking patterns described in Section
2.4 suggest: firstly, that a majority of young men and women aged 16-24
are likely to exceed the recommended number of daily units (4 for males,
3 for females) at least once a week, and a high proportion of young adult
drinkers are likely to exceed twice those levels (8 units for males, 6
for females); and secondly, the more frequently young people drink, the
more likely they are to drink large amounts on the days they drink.
2.4.6 Trends in daily alcohol
consumption among young adults aged 16-24
The module of questions on past week drinking was first included in the 1998 Health Survey, so it is not possible to make comparisons with the 1997 Health Survey report on children and young adults. However, it is possible to compare results from HSE 2002 with those from the 1998 Health Survey for this age group. The table below shows this comparison.
The proportion of young men drinking 4 or more units
on their heaviest drinking day increased from 73% to 81% over the last
four years, but the proportion drinking 8 or more units was similar in
1998 and 2002 (and not significantly different). The changes for young
women were much greater: compared with 38% in 1998, in 2002 52% of young
women drank 6 or more units on their heaviest drinking day, and the proportion
drinking 3 or more units increased from 65% to 77% over this period. It
thus appears that the likelihood of young adults exceeding both the current
recommended daily levels, and twice those daily levels, have increased
over the past four years, especially among young women.
2.5 Level of alcohol consumption
for young adults aged 16-24: logistic regression
2.5.1 Weekly alcohol consumption
A logistic regression was run with the dependent variable
being a consumption level exceeding 21 (men)/14 (women) units of alcohol
a week (as described in Section 2.3). The independent variables included
were age, smoking status, equivalised household income, socio-economic
classification (NS-SEC), area deprivation, and region. The results are
shown in Table 2.20.
The results for the independent variables (adjusted for all other variables in the model) largely reflect those described in Section 2.3, with a few exceptions. For young men, no significant differences were found for equivalised household income or socio-economic status after adjustment for the other factors in the model. Odds ratios increased significantly with age, except for the oldest age group in the model (22-24), when they decreased slightly. Compared with non-smokers, odds ratios increased for light, moderate and heavy smokers. Young men living in areas classified in the most deprived quintile had a significantly lower odds ratio. Compared with London, the reference group, the odds ratios were significantly higher in all other regions except East England.
All the variables in the model showed significant differences
in the model for women. The patterns for age, smoking and area deprivation
were similar to those for men. There were fewer regional differences than
found among men, as only five of the eight regions were significantly
different from London. Unlike men, women showed differences in terms of
equivalised household income (odds ratios increased along with income
quintile) and socio-economic group (women in semi-routine and routine
households had a significantly lower odds ratio). Table 2.20
2.5.2 Alcohol consumption on the
heaviest drinking day
A second logistic regression was run with the dependent variable being the likelihood of drinking 4 or more (males)/3 or more (females) units on the heaviest drinking day. The independent variables included were the same as those described above. However, after adjusting for all the other variables in the model, only three variables showed any significant differences for young women (smoking status, socio-economic status and region), and only one variable for young men (smoking status). Table 2.21 |
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