title: Alcohol consumption and binge drinking in young adult childhood cancer survivors.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study compared frequency of alcohol consumption and binge drinking between young adult childhood cancer survivors and the general population in Switzerland, and assessed its socio-demographic and clinical determinants.
  
  
  METHODS
  Childhood cancer survivors aged <16 years when diagnosed 1976-2003, who had survived >5 years and were currently aged 20-40 years received a postal questionnaire. Reported frequency of alcohol use and of binge drinking were compared to the Swiss Health Survey, a representative general population survey. Determinants of frequent alcohol consumption and binge drinking were assessed in a multivariable logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 1,697 eligible survivors, 1,447 could be contacted and 1,049 (73%) responded. Survivors reported more often than controls to consume alcohol frequently (OR = 1.7; 95%CI = 1.3-2.1) and to engage in binge drinking (OR = 2.9; 95%CI = 2.3-3.8). Peak frequency of binge drinking in males occurred at age 24-26 years in survivors, compared to age 18-20 in the general population. Socio-demographic factors (male gender, high educational attainment, French and Italian speaking, and migration background from Northern European countries) were most strongly associated with alcohol consumption patterns among both survivors and controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The high frequency of alcohol consumption found in this study is a matter of concern. Our data suggest that survivors should be better informed on the health effects of alcohol consumption during routine follow-up, and that such counseling should be included in clinical guidelines. Future research should study motives of alcohol consumption among survivors to allow development of targeted health interventions for this vulnerable group.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Cornelia E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Rebholz
authors.forename: Claudia E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Kuehni
authors.forename: Marie-Pierre F
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Strippoli
authors.forename: Corina S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Rueegg
authors.forename: Gisela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.forename: Heinz
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hengartner
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bergstraesser
authors.forename: Nicolas X
authors.initials: NX
authors.lastname: von der Weid
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000523:psychology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D017741:Survivors; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult