Binge drinking trends in a UK community-based sample

Abstract

Aims. To investigate binge drinking trends using unrelated singletons from the GENESiS sample, aged 20-60 years. Methods. The GENESiS study is a questionnaire study based in the UK and includes measures on various mental health items as well as measures of alcohol consumption. Alcohol data from 20 062 subjects were analysed with respect to binge/heavy drinking behaviour as defined by the Office for National Statistics, UK. Results. The average number of units of alcohol per week consumed was 16 for men and 8 for women. Female binge drinking (more than 6 units per drinking session) was found to be very comparable to male binge drinking (more than 8 units per drinking session) with 15% of males reporting binge drinking compared with 18% of females. Binge drinking was found to be most prevalent amongst males and females in their twenties (33% of males vs 38% of females). Conclusions. This study revealed that, for both men and women, there was evidence of substantial numbers drinking heavily and in a binge drinking pattern, particularly in young adults.