Assessing alcohol consumption: Beverage-specific versus grouped-beverage questions

Objective: The quantity-frequency method is commonly used to measure alcoho l intake in large surveys. Because of time and space constraints, questionn aires are often shortened by combining questions on all types of alcohol in to a single question. We investigated the effect of this practice using dat a from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Method: we examined data collected from 213,842 respondents to surveys conducted by 32 states a nd the District of Columbia participating in the years 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990. The 1987 and 1988 surveys asked questions about respondents' frequen cy and level of intake of specific alcohol-containing beverages. The 1989 a nd 1990 surveys asked about the frequency and quantity of intake of alcohol -containing beverages by combining all beverages into a single group. Resul ts: Among drinkers, the mean number of drinks per month was higher for thos e who were asked beverage-specific questions than for those who were asked grouped-beverage questions (men: 37.0 vs 29.6; women: 17.0 vs 13.9). Conclu sion: Caution must be used in comparing level of alcohol intake from survey s in which beverages are not grouped identically.