Drinking histories of self-identified lifetime abstainers and occasional drinkers: findings from the 1958 British Birth Cohort Study.

Full Abstract

AIMS:
To investigate the validity of retrospective items used to distinguish people who have rarely or never consumed alcohol.

METHODS:
The 1958 British Birth Cohort Study has followed 9377 individuals until age 45. Previous drinking (at 16, 23, 33 and 42 years) was investigated for two groups of 45-year-old non-drinkers, those reporting never having consumed alcohol ('never drinkers', n = 143, 1.5%), and having only consumed very infrequently ('occasional-only drinkers', n = 1149, 12.3%).

RESULTS:
67% of never drinkers previously reported drinking, 25% were past weekly/daily drinkers; 56% of occasional-only drinkers reported weekly/daily consumption. The validity of the retrospective items was progressively questionable when presumed to cover longer time periods.

CONCLUSIONS:
Substantial measurement error was evident when identifying 'occasional-only' and 'never' drinkers using retrospective items covering the lifecourse. Researchers investigating potential health benefits associated with moderate drinking need to incorporate more sophisticated methods when identifying sub-groups of non-drinkers.

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Author information

Author/s: Caldwell, T M (TM); Rodgers, B (B); Power, C (C); Clark, C (C); Stansfeld, S A (SA);

Affiliation: National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia. Tanya.Caldwell(-atsign-)anu.edu.au

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire) (Alcohol Alcohol), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: -2006 Nov-Dec; vol 41 (issue 6) : pp 650-4

Dates: Created 2006/11/07; Completed 2007/02/20;

PMID: 17028305, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

Comments and Corrections

CommentIn: Alcohol Alcohol. 2006 Nov-Dec;41(6):583-4. (PMID: 17028307)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent
Adult
Alcohol Drinking - epidemiology
Child
Cohort Studies
Female
Great Britain - epidemiology
Humans
Incidence

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