Abstract
Gender differences in alcohol use have narrowed over the decades. This study aimed to explore changes in alcohol consumption patterns between 2007 and 2016 to identify gender convergence in alcohol use in Korea. Data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used. For all respondents (41,662 girls/women and 32,041 boys/men) aged ≥12 years, lifetime drinking, current drinking, age of drinking onset, heavy alcohol use, and binge drinking were analyzed. Gender differences in heavy alcohol use and binge drinking decreased from 2007 to 2016 (p = 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). The prevalence of heavy alcohol use and binge drinking decreased in boys/men (67.5% to 63.9%, p = 0.001; 63.4% to 60.9%, p = 0.001, respectively), but not in girls/women (50.2% to 50.4%, p = 0.279; 30.6% to 32.0%, p = 0.994, respectively). The proportion of lifetime abstainers decreased among both girls/women (24.3% to 19.1%, p < 0.001) and boys/men (12.1% to 9.7%, p = 0.01). In girls/women, the mean age of drinking onset decreased (from 24.1 to 23.6 years, p = 0.017); however, in boys/men, significant changes were not observed (from 18.9 to 18.7 years, p = 0.307). Healthcare providers should be aware of the growing health risks resulting from increased unhealthy alcohol use in women and develop gender-specific preventive interventions.
Highlights
IntroductionMen consume more alcohol than women [1]. gender differences in this pattern of alcohol use, including problem drinking, have narrowed over recent decades [2,3,4,5,6]
Worldwide, men consume more alcohol than women [1]
According to studies conducted in the United States, the magnitude of the increase in alcohol use frequency in women was twice that in men between 2001–2002 and 2012–2013 [5], and the prevalence of binge drinking significantly increased in women, but not in men, between 2000 and 2016 [6]
Summary
Men consume more alcohol than women [1]. gender differences in this pattern of alcohol use, including problem drinking, have narrowed over recent decades [2,3,4,5,6]. The prevalence of binge drinking increased among Korean women (20.5% to 26.9%), but decreased among men (53.7.1% to 50.8%) between 2007 and 2018 [7,8]. On average, Korean men and women consume about six drinks per occasion [9], which is much greater than the low-risk drinking limits (
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