Prevalence of Alcohol Consumption in an Urban Population of Dehradun

Abstract

A descriptive, randomized and observational study was conducted to assess the prevalence of alcohol consumption in an urban population of Patelnagar, Dehradun, Uttarakhand. A total of 1214 subjects were randomly selected and initially screened as alcohol consumer. Out of 1214 subjects, 544 subjects were alcohol consumers showing prevalence rate of 44.81%. Basic socio-demographic data of 544 alcohol consumers were collected by using self-modified structured questionnaire. Prevalence of alcohol consumption was more among males (40.36%) as compared to that in females (4.45%). Gender wise distribution of alcohol consumers showed that there were more males (90.07%) as compared to female (9.93%) and age wise distribution showed that majority of alcohol consumers belongs to the age group of 26–35 years (35.29%). Illiterate consume alcohol at a higher rate (47.05%) than other educated groups. Majority of alcohol consumers belongs to medium level of living standard (46.69%) and consumption of alcohol was found higher in those who are occupationally skilled and professional (64.7%) as compared to unskilled and semi-skilled (35.29%). So, educational interventions among those who are at a higher risk and management of alcohol dependent subjects may help in reducing the burden of alcohol use in them.