Alcohol-related social consequences in Castille and Leon, Spain.
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of alcohol-related social problems, as well as to assess the relationship between alcohol-related social problems and patterns of alcohol consumption in the general population during the year 2004.


METHODS
A total of 2,500 individuals, age range from 14 to 70 years, in Castille and Leon, Spain, were surveyed in 2004 for their patterns of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related social consequences during the previous year.


RESULTS
Participants who admitted to having had some kind of social problem related to the consumption of alcohol in the previous year were 6.5%, with a mean of 2.4 alcohol-related social problems. The most frequent problems cited were "argument, discussion, or serious conflict without physical aggression" (3%).


CONCLUSIONS
The present study shows that the reporting of alcohol-related social problems was quite frequent and that having alcohol-related social problems was related to drunkenness episodes in the previous year, having 5 or more drinks on a single occasion in the previous year, and alcohol intake.
Javier Alvarez
Francisco
F
Institute for Alcohol and Drug Studies, Faculty of Medicine, University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain. alvarez@med.uva.es
Fierro
Inmaculada
I
Carmen del Río
Maria
M
D000041:Absenteeism; D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000374:Aggression; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000453:epidemiology; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000453:epidemiology; D000431:Ethanol / Q000506:poisoning; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012920:Social Behavior Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology
D000431:Ethanol