title: Gender and alcohol consumption: patterns from the multinational GENACIS project.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate multinational patterns of gender- and age-specific alcohol consumption.
  
  
  METHODS
  Large general-population surveys of men's and women's drinking behavior (n's > 900) in 35 countries in 1997-2007 used a standardized questionnaire (25 countries) or measures comparable to those in the standardized questionnaire.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from men and women in three age groups (18-34, 35-49, 50-65) showed the prevalence of drinkers, former drinkers, and lifetime abstainers; and the prevalence of high-frequency, high-volume, and heavy episodic drinking among current drinkers. Analyses examined gender ratios for prevalence rates and the direction of changes in prevalence rates across age groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Drinking per se and high-volume drinking were consistently more prevalent among men than among women, but lifetime abstention from alcohol was consistently more prevalent among women. Among respondents who had ever been drinkers, women in all age groups were consistently more likely to have stopped drinking than men were. Among drinkers, the prevalence of high-frequency drinking was consistently greatest in the oldest age group, particularly among men. Unexpectedly, the prevalence of drinking per se did not decline consistently with increasing age, and declines in high-volume and heavy episodic drinking with increasing age were more typical in Europe and English-speaking countries.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As expected, men still exceed women in drinking and high-volume drinking, although gender ratios vary. Better explanations are needed for why more women than men quit drinking, and why aging does not consistently reduce drinking and heavy drinking outside Europe and English-speaking countries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences, 501 North Columbia Road Stop 9037, Grand Forks, ND 58202-9037, USA. rwilsnac@medicine.nodak.edu
authors.forename: Richard W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Wilsnack
authors.forename: Sharon C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Wilsnack
authors.forename: Arlinda F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Kristjanson
authors.forename: Nancy D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Vogeltanz-Holm
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gmel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
references.citation: JAMA. 2003 Jan 1;289(1):70-5
references.pmid: 12503979
references.citation: Eur Addict Res. 1998 Dec;4(4):163-71
references.pmid: 9852368
references.citation: Subst Abus. 2001 Mar;22(1):23-38
references.pmid: 12466667
references.citation: Rev Saude Publica. 2004 Feb;38(1):45-54
references.pmid: 14963541
references.citation: Addiction. 2008 Feb;103(2):181-91
references.pmid: 18028522
references.citation: Africa (Lond). 2001;71(3):373-90
references.pmid: 19326587
references.citation: Alcohol Alcohol. 2003 Mar-Apr;38(2):142-7
references.pmid: 12634261
references.citation: J Stud Alcohol. 2003 Mar;64(2):278-85
references.pmid: 12713203
references.citation: Clin Psychol Rev. 2004 Dec;24(8):981-1010
references.pmid: 15533281
references.citation: J Am Geriatr Soc. 2004 Apr;52(4):540-6
references.pmid: 15066068
references.citation: Drug Alcohol Depend. 2006 Nov 8;85(2):163-70
references.pmid: 16735099
references.citation: Soc Sci Med. 2004 Jul;59(1):113-27
references.pmid: 15087148
references.citation: Am J Prev Med. 2004 Oct;27(3):197-204
references.pmid: 15450631
references.citation: Am J Epidemiol. 2002 Nov 15;156(10):969-76
references.pmid: 12419770
references.citation: J Stud Alcohol. 2005 Jan;66(1):91-7
references.pmid: 15830908
references.citation: Soc Sci Med. 2005 Dec;61(11):2317-30
references.pmid: 16139405
references.citation: N Engl J Med. 2003 Jan 9;348(2):109-18
references.pmid: 12519921
references.citation: Hypertension. 2004 Dec;44(6):813-9
references.pmid: 15477381
references.citation: Br J Addict. 1991 Oct;86(10):1221-67
references.pmid: 1836408
references.citation: Cancer Causes Control. 2001 Sep;12(7):589-98
references.pmid: 11552706
references.citation: Compr Ther. 1997 Feb;23(2):135-40
references.pmid: 9083725
references.citation: J Korean Med Sci. 2008 Apr;23(2):199-206
references.pmid: 18437000
references.citation: Drug Alcohol Depend. 2004 Jun 11;74(3):223-34
references.pmid: 15194200
references.citation: Psychol Rep. 2003 Jun;92(3 Pt 2):1081-8
references.pmid: 12931920
references.citation: J Epidemiol. 2005 Mar;15 Suppl 1:S56-66
references.pmid: 15881196
references.citation: Alcohol Alcohol. 2007 Jul-Aug;42(4):354-61
references.pmid: 17496306
references.citation: Addiction. 1997 Jan;92(1):49-60
references.pmid: 9060197
references.citation: J Nutr. 2003 Aug;133(8):2655-62
references.pmid: 12888654
references.citation: Alcohol Alcohol Suppl. 2006 Oct-Nov;41(1):i8-18
references.pmid: 17030504
references.citation: Alcohol Alcohol. 2007 Sep-Oct;42(5):465-73
references.pmid: 17287207
references.citation: Addiction. 2000 Feb;95(2):251-65
references.pmid: 10723854
references.citation: Subst Abus. 2001 Mar;22(1):39-53
references.pmid: 12466668
references.citation: Alcohol Alcohol. 2004 Jan-Feb;39(1):43-52
references.pmid: 14691074
references.citation: J Epidemiol Community Health. 2004 Mar;58(3):238-42
references.pmid: 14966239
references.citation: Subst Abus. 2000 Dec;21(4):231-247
references.pmid: 12466662
references.citation: Addiction. 2006 Aug;101(8):1073-7
references.pmid: 16869836
references.citation: Addict Behav. 2008 Apr;33(4):503-14
references.pmid: 18055131
references.citation: Drug Alcohol Depend. 2000 Nov 1;60(3):315-8
references.pmid: 11053767
references.citation: Alcohol Res Health. 2002;26(4):245-50
references.pmid: 12875033
references.citation: Alcohol Alcohol. 1999 Jul-Aug;34(4):622-8
references.pmid: 10456591
references.citation: Braz J Psychiatry. 2008 Sep;30(3):235-42
references.pmid: 18833424
references.citation: Drug Alcohol Depend. 2008 Jan 11;93(1-2):21-9
references.pmid: 17980512
references.citation: Addiction. 2004 Jun;99(6):738-48
references.pmid: 15139872
references.citation: Addiction. 2007 Oct;102(10):1574-85
references.pmid: 17854334
references.citation: Eur Addict Res. 2003 Oct;9(4):147-56
references.pmid: 12970583
references.citation: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1994 Apr;18(2):305-10
references.pmid: 8048731
references.citation: Addiction. 2005 Dec;100(12):1763-9
references.pmid: 16367976
references.citation: Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2005 Mar;40(3):214-22
references.pmid: 15742227
references.citation: Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2005 Feb;40(2):114-9
references.pmid: 15685402
references.citation: Eur J Cancer Prev. 2002 Jun;11(3):237-44
references.pmid: 12131657