A Reveille on the Prevalence of Alcohol Use in India: What Does the Epidemiological Literature Say?

Abstract

There is a piece of classical and voluminous evidence in the literature regarding the use of alcohol from the Hebrew Bible, literary heritage of Greeks and Romans and the Vedas of India. However, the recent evidence suggests that excessive alcohol consumption is a risk factor for a wide range of health and social problems and a major cause of premature illness and death. The present paper explores the findings of the national and regional based epidemiological survey on alcohol use in the Indian setting. Although there is a difference in the technique and screening instrument, it can be assumed that the prevalence of alcohol use disorders in India can vary from 4.6 % to 5.2 %. The studies conducted in various parts of India using AUDIT as a research instrument found a varying prevalence of alcohol dependence ranging from 12.4 to 36.5 %. Furthermore, harmful alcohol use is found to vary from 33.2 to 52.6 %. The recent data suggest that fewer people in India consume alcohol, but a larger proportion is affected by harmful use or dependence on alcohol. Considering the changing trends of alcohol use in India, epidemiological data regarding the patterns of alcohol use forms the mainstay for proper health planning.