RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Alcohol use is a major source of health problem. The social and economic costs related to alcohol use are enormous. Thus, alcohol use is a public health issue. Previous studies on alcohol use were based on hospitalized patients(especially alcoholics) or community subjects, but national survey is lacking. In this study, we describe alcohol use among the Koreans. METHODS: Household telephone survey was carried out using multistage stratified random sampling methods from April to May, 1997. fifteen to sixty-nine year old subjects were randomly selected from household and asked to report type, quantity and frequency of alcoholic beverage consumption. RESULTS: The prevalences of alcohol drinking during the last month were 64.0% for mea 37.8% for women and 64.7% for those in their and twenties, and it decreased with increasing age. In multivariate logistic regression model, men, the unmarried, those in their twenties, administrative and professional personnel were associated with higher prevalence of alcohol drinking. Proportions of Nearly daily drinker were 16.5% for men, 2.2% for women, and more than 20% for those in their forties and over and in creased with increasing age. Mean alcohol consumption was 56 grams for men, 12 grams for women Heavy drinkers, defined as average intake of 30 grams or more per day, were found in 23.4% of men and 2.4% of women.. The most widely consumed beverages were soju, beer and makuli. In multivariate logistic regression model, men, the unmarried, those in their twenties, and administrative and professional personnel were highly associated with heavy drinking. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalences of alcohol drinking during the last month was 49.0%. The proportion of heavy drinker was 11.4%. Men, the unmarried, those in their twenties, and administrative and professional personnel were highly associated with heave drinking. Therefore, efforts should be made to reduce heavy alcohol drinking among the risk groups.