[Regional differences in patterns of alcohol consumption: findings from the China Kadoorie Biobank study on half a million people from 10 regions].
OBJECTIVE
To describe the regional differences on patterns of alcohol consumption across 10 study in the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) areas involving half a million adults.


METHODS
The baseline survey of CKB took place in 5 urban and 5 rural areas across China during 2004-2008. Detailed information on alcohol consumption of 512 891 participants aged 30-79 years was gathered and analyzed.


RESULTS
were directly standardized on age (in 10-age groups) and education (5 groups) structure of the study population for different sex.


RESULTS
The overall prevalence rates of regular drinking (i.e., at least weekly) were 33.1% among men and 2.2% among women. Among men, the prevalence rate was seen highest in Harbin (52.0%) and Sichuan (50.2%), but lowest in Gansu (8.1%) and Haikou (18.8%). Most regular drinkers in Sichuan, Hunan, and Gansu habitually drank strong spirits (≥ 40% alcohol content), whereas beer was most commonly consumed in Harbin and Qingdao, with rice wine most commonly used in the southern regions (Haikou, Suzhou,Zhejiang and Liuzhou). Mean alcohol consumption was highest in Sichuan (414.6 g/week). Although the mean alcohol consumptions appeared lower on regular occasion in Gansu (195.2 g/week) and Henan (239.6 g/week) than in other regions, the amount consumed on special occasions in these two regions were the highest (Henan:202.3 g/day; Gansu:171.2 g/day). Similar patterns were also seen in women. Of all the regular drinkers, 82.6% of men and 56.6% of women reported heavy drinking episodes (men: >60 g, women: >40 g) on special occasions.


CONCLUSIONS
The patterns of alcohol consumption including prevalence, frequency, amount, binge drinking pattern, and type of alcohol beverage varied greatly among the ten areas of CKB under study.
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China.
Jun
J
Lyu
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.
Yu
Y
Guo
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.
Zheng
Z
Bian
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China.
Canqing
C
Yu
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.
Zheng
Z
Wang
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.
Huiyan
H
Zhou
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.
Yunlong
Y
Tan
China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment.
Junshi
J
Chen
Clinical Trial Service Unit and Epidemiological Studies Unit (CTSU), Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, UK.
Zhengming
Z
Chen
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China; Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Email: lmlee@pumc.edu.cn.
Liming
L
Li
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000434:Alcoholic Beverages; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012424:Rural Population; D014505:Urban Population