title: [Alcohol consumption among traveling Chilean older people].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Problems associated with alcohol consumption are prevalent in Chile, but little is known about the situation in the elderly.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To perform a screening to detect alcohol-related problems and risks in the Chilean older people who travel.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) questionnaire was answered by 1,076 travelers aged 60 to 93 years (66% females), who participated in trips organized by the Chilean National Tourism Service (SERNATUR).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy six percent of respondents acknowledged to have ingested an alcoholic drink during the last month. The average AUDIT score was of 2.2 ± 2.6. Only 3.7% of the sample had a score equal or higher than eight, considered as risky use. Within this last group, 60% had symptoms of alcohol dependence. A higher alcohol consumption was associated with male gender (p < 0.01), being younger than 75 years of age (p < 0.01), having a medium-low economic income (p < 0.01) and having a higher education level (p = 0.03). There was no significant association with the respondents' occupation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this sample of Chilean traveling older people, there was a high prevalence of alcohol consumption, and nearly 4% of respondents had alcohol related problems.
authors.forename: Chung Bin C
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Verónica A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Rojas
authors.forename: Macarena R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Zalaquett
authors.forename: Romina S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: Cristián C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Ramírez
authors.forename: Fernando O
authors.initials: FO
authors.lastname: Román
authors.forename: Marcela G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Carrasco
authors.forename: Homero E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Gac
authors.forename: Sebastián C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Valderrama
authors.forename: Pedro Paulo  L
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Marín
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002677:Chile / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014195:Travel