Risk Factors Associated with Frequent Alcohol Binge Drinking among Jamaicans: Does Gender Matter?

Abstract

Objective: Alcohol is one of the most commonly consumed substances in Jamaica, despite the many health problems<br />associated with excessive alcohol use. The aim of this study was to identify potential risk factors for alcohol binge<br />drinking among Jamaicans, and determine if there were significant gender differences in the associations between<br />identified risk factors and frequent binge drinking. Methods: Data collected from the 2016 National Household<br />Survey Jamaica were analysed. Descriptive and inferential statistics were computed using SPSS. Binary logistic<br />regression analysis was used to determine factors associated with frequent binge drinking. Results: The total number<br />of respondents was 4623. Females were 2,535 (54.8%) compared to males 2088 (45.2%). In bivariate analysis, there<br />was a significant association between age and frequent binge drinking among males (X2 = 11.11, p =0.004), but not<br />among females (X2 = 2.03, p = 0.36). Similarly, there was a significant association between employment and frequent<br />binge drinking for males but not for females (X2= 12.85, p= 0.002; X2= 2.49, p= 0.29 respectively). In multivariate<br />analysis, age 12- 17 years was significantly, inversely associated with frequent binge drinking in the crude logit model<br />but not in the adjusted logit model (crude odds ratio [COR] 0.21, 95%CI= 0.6- 0.66; adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.51,<br />95%CI= 0.12- 2.13 respectively). Employment was significantly, positively associated with frequent binge drinking in<br />the adjusted logit model (employed: AOR= 3.63, 95% CI= 1.05- 12.59) among males. Among females, age showed no<br />significant association with frequent binge drinking. Only having primary/ lower education was significantly, positively<br />associated with frequent binge drinking among females (AOR= 5.17, 95%CI= 1.36- 19.65). Conclusion: Risk factors<br />for frequent binge drinking differed by gender; being employed was a risk factor for males while having primary (or<br />lower) education was a risk factor for females.