Highly reported prevalence of drinking and driving in Brazil: data from the first representative household study.
OBJECTIVE
Brazil lacks information about driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) originated from representative samples obtained from the general population.


METHODS
333 subjects with a valid driver's license and drinking in the last 12 months were drawn from a multistaged sample of 2,346 adults from the first Brazilian Household Survey of Patterns of Alcohol Use. A multivariate analysis was conducted to understand the associations between risk factors and driving after drinking three or more drinks.


RESULTS
the overall DUI prevalence reported in the sample was 34.7% - 42.5% among males and 9.2% among females. Being male (OR = 6.0, 95% CI 2.9-12.6), having a previous DUI accident (OR = 7.9, 95% CI 2.5-24.9), binging in the last year (OR = 2.2, 95% CI 1.03-4.5) and having an unfavorable opinion towards policies (OR = 2.9, 95% CI 1.4-6.2) remained associated with heavy drinking and driving after model adjustments.


CONCLUSIONS
This was the first study evaluating driving under the influence of alcohol in a representative sample of the Brazilian population. The prevalence of DUI found is alarming, and possibly underestimated in the sample. Results demonstrate the need for more studies on this association and show directions towards preventive strategies for the specific high-risk group of male drivers with previous problems with alcohol and unfavorable opinions about prevention policies.
Pechansky
Flavio
F
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. fpechans@uol.com.br
De Boni
Raquel
R
Diemen
Lísia Von
LV
Bumaguin
Daniela
D
Pinsky
Ilana
I
Zaleski
Marcos
M
Caetano
Raul
R
Laranjeira
Ronaldo
R
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008004:Licensure / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class; D055815:Young Adult