ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence of hazardous and harmful alcohol use, which are a subthreshold of alcohol related disorders. METHODS: Direct-interview questionnaires to 1,183 rural persons (489 male, 694 female) were conducted in Chungju-city from July 2 to 26, 1998. As a screening instrument, the alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT) was used. RESULTS: The prevalence of alcohol use was 41.7%. In males, it was 66.3% and in females, it was 24.4%. The mean of the AUDIT score of males and females was 13.2 and 5.6, respectively. As WHO guideline, the prevalence of hazardous alcohol use in males and females was 80.3% and 20.7%, respectively. This suggests that the prevalence of 'hazardous drinking' and 'harmful drinking' was 45.4% and 29.3% for males and 1.2% and 2.4% for females, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study presented the prevalence of hazardous and harmful drinking of a rural population in Korea and reviewed those health problems. Further evaluation to detect and treat lower alcoholic drinkers is recommended