Border effects on DSM-5 alcohol use disorders on both sides of the U.S.–Mexico border

Abstract

BackgroundLittle epidemiological evidence exists on alcohol use and related problems along the U.S.–Mexico border, although the borderlands have been the focus of recent media attention related to the escalating drug/violence “epidemic”. In the present study, the relationship of proximity of living at the border and alcohol use disorders (AUDs) is analyzed from the U.S.–Mexico Study on Alcohol and Related Conditions (UMSARC). MethodsHousehold surveys were conducted on 2336 Mexican Americans in Texas (771 in a non-border city and 1565 from three border cities located in the three poorest counties in the U.S.) and 2460 Mexicans from the states of Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas in Mexico (811 in a non-border city and 1649 from three cities which are sister cities to the Texas border sites). ResultsAmong current drinkers, prevalence of AUD was marginally greater (p<0.10) at the U.S. border compared to the non-border, but the opposite was true in Mexico (p<0.001), and these trends continued on both sides across volume and 5+ drinking days. Prevalence was greater in Laredo/Nuevo Laredo relative to their respective sister city counterparts on the same side. Border effects appeared greater for males than females in the U.S. and the opposite in Mexico. ConclusionThe data suggest that border proximity may affect AUD in both the U.S. and Mexico, but in the opposite direction, and may be related to the relative perceived or actual stress of living in the respective communities.