title: Impact of heavy drinkers on others' health and well-being.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although there is a well-established quantitative literature examining the impact of alcohol consumption on the drinker, there has been much less examination of how someone's drinking affects other people. This study attempts to assess the degree to which relationships with heavy drinkers affect health and well-being.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study is based on a random telephone survey of 2,649 Australians (2,422 providing sufficient data for analysis) that asked respondents to identify people in their lives who were heavy drinkers or who sometimes drank a lot. In addition, information on respondents' well-being and health was collected using the Personal Wellbeing Index and the EuroQol Group 5-Dimension Self-Report Questionnaire score (EQ-5D) index, along with data on a range of other sociodemographic factors. Multivariate regression models were developed to determine whether living with heavy drinkers or knowing heavy drinkers outside the household were related to health and well-being once socioeconomic and demographic factors and the respondent's own drinking behavior were statistically controlled.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study finds negative effects on both health and well-being related to the number of heavy drinkers identified outside the respondent's household, whereas heavy drinkers within the household were negatively related to health but not well-being.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study suggests that other people's drinking can have substantial effects on health and well-being, providing impetus for policies that reduce heavy drinking in the population.
authors: AER Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, 54-62 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, Victoria 3065, Australia. michaell@turningpoint.org.au
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Livingston
authors: Claire
authors: C
authors: Wilkinson
authors: Anne-Marie
authors: AM
authors: Laslett
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D013695:Temperance / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult