title: Male solitary drinking and hazardous alcohol use in nine countries of the former Soviet Union.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite evidence that many people engage in solitary drinking and that it might be associated with negative consequences, to date, little research has focused on this form of drinking behaviour. This study examined the prevalence and factors associated with solitary drinking, and assessed whether it is linked with hazardous alcohol use among males in nine countries of the former Soviet Union (fSU).
  
  
  METHODS
  Data came from a cross-sectional population-based survey undertaken in 2010/11 in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine. Information was obtained on the frequency of solitary drinking among male regular drinkers (i.e., those consuming alcoholic drinks at least once a month), and on problem drinking (CAGE) and heavy episodic drinking (HED). Logistic regression analysis was used to examine associations between the variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of occasional and frequent solitary drinking ranged from 8.4% (Georgia) to 42.4% (Azerbaijan), and 3.1% (Kazakhstan) to 8.2% (Armenia), respectively. Solitary drinking was associated with being older, divorced/widowed, living alone, having a bad/very bad household financial situation, lower levels of social support, and poor self-rated health. Occasional solitary drinking was linked to problem drinking and HED, while frequent solitary alcohol use was related to problem drinking.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Solitary drinking is relatively common among male regular drinkers in the fSU and is linked to older age, social and economic disadvantage, and hazardous alcohol use.
authors.affiliation: European Centre on Health of Societies in Transition, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom; Stockholm Centre on Health of Societies in Transition (SCOHOST), Södertörn University, Huddinge, Sweden; Department of Human Ecology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. Electronic address: andrew.stickley@sh.se.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stickley
authors.affiliation: Research and Development Unit, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Fundació Sant Joan de Déu, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Ai
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koyanagi
authors.affiliation: European Centre on Health of Societies in Transition, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Bayard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.affiliation: European Centre on Health of Societies in Transition, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Adrianna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.affiliation: Social and Humanitarian Research Institute, V.N. Karazin Kharkov National University, Kharkiv, Ukraine.
authors.forename: Kseniya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kizilova
authors.affiliation: European Centre on Health of Societies in Transition, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McKee
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012944:Social Support; D014586:USSR; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Alcohol problems; Former Soviet Union; HITT survey; Heavy episodic drinking; Solitary drinking