Alcohol consumption in the Baltic Republics

Study objectives-Premature mortality associated with alcohol intake is of p articular concern in several countries of the former Soviet Union. This stu dy explored self reported alcohol consumption (beer, wine, spirits) and its determinants in the Baltic Republics. Design-Cross sectional surveys conducted in 1997. Settings-Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Participants-Representative samples of adults age 19-64 (Estonia n=2010; La tvia n=2258; Lithuania n=2139). Methods-Between country differences in the frequency of alcohol intake were estimated. The odds of consuming alcohol weekly according to socioeconomic characteristics (age, ethnicity, rural/urban area, education, income) were calculated using multiple logistic regression analyses, adjusting for all variables simultaneously. Main results-The proportion of respondents consuming alcohol weekly varied by country (p<0.001) (men: Estonia=61% Latvia=41% Lithuania=55%; women: Est onia=26% Latvia=8% Lithuania=14%). Within each country, this proportion dec reased with age in both sexes (p<0.001), and increased with income in women (p<0.01). In Estonia, the odds of drinking alcohol weekly was significantl y lower in respondents of Russian than of Estonian ethnicity (odds ratios ( OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI): men=0.51 (0.36, 0.71); women=0.57 (0.39, 0.81)). In Lithuania, the odds was higher in highly educated men th an in those with a low education level (OR=1.48 (1.01, 2.17)). Daily alcoho l intake was higher in Estonia than in the other countries, as was the perc entage of respondents drinking heavily (equivalent to 80 g/day). Conclusions-Approximately half the men and one in six women in the Baltic S tates reported consuming alcohol at least weekly. Age and income were the s trongest and most consistent correlates of the likelihood of consuming alco hol weekly. Ethnic differences were observed only in Estonia.