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  • Alcohol policy changes and 22-year trends in individual alcohol consumption in a Swiss adult population: a 1993–2014 cross-sectional population-based study

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Addiction
Research
Alcohol policy changes and 22-year trends in individual alcohol consumption in a Swiss adult population: a 1993–2014 cross-sectional population-based study
  1. Shireen Dumont1,
  2. Pedro Marques-Vidal2,
  3. Thierry Favrod-Coune3,
  4. Jean-Marc Theler3,
  5. Jean-Michel Gaspoz3,
  6. Barbara Broers3,
  7. Idris Guessous3,4,5
  1. 1University of Geneva Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland
  2. 2Department of Internal Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland
  3. 3Division of Primary Care Medicine, Department of Community Medicine, Primary Care and Emergency Medicine, University Hospitals of Geneva and Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
  4. 4Department of Ambulatory Care and Community Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland
  5. 5Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Idris Guessous; Idris.Guessous{at}hcuge.ch

Abstract

Objective Evidence on the impact of legislative changes on individual alcohol consumption is limited. Using an observational study design, we assessed trends in individual alcohol consumption of a Swiss adult population following the public policy changes that took place between 1993 and 2014, while considering individual characteristics and secular trends.

Design Cross-sectional study.

Setting Swiss general adult population.

Participants Data from 18 963 participants were collected between 1993 and 2014 (aged 18–75 years).

Outcome measures We used data from the ‘Bus Santé’ study, an annual health survey conducted in random samples of the adult population in the State of Geneva, Switzerland. Individual alcohol intake was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Individual characteristics including education were self-reported. 7 policy changes (6 about alcohol and 1 about tobacco) that occurred between 1993 and 2014 defined 6 different periods. We predicted alcohol intake using quantile regression with multivariate analysis for each period adjusting for participants' characteristics and tested significance periods. Sensitivity analysis was performed including drinkers only, the 10th centile of highest drinkers and smoker's status.

Results Between 1993 and 2014, participants' individual alcohol intake decreased from 7.1 to 5.4 g/day (24% reduction, p<0.001). Men decreased their alcohol intake by 34% compared with 22% for women (p<0.001). The decrease in alcohol intake remained significant when considering drinkers only (28% decrease, p<0.001) and the 10th centile highest drinkers (24% decrease, p<0.001). Consumption of all alcoholic beverages decreased between 1993 and 2014 except for the moderate consumption of beer, which increased. After adjustment for participants' characteristics and secular trends, no independent association between alcohol legislative changes and individual alcohol intake was found.

Conclusions Between 1993 and 2014, alcohol consumption decreased in the Swiss adult population independently of policy changes.

  • alcohol
  • individual alcohol consumption
  • population based-study
  • policy changes
  • trends
  • Switzerland

This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-014828

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors SD wrote most of the article; BB and IG designed the study and wrote part of the article; IG performed the statistical analyses and had full access to data; J-MG and J-MT collected the data; TF-C and PM-V revised the article for important intellectual content. All authors have approved the final version of the article.

    • Funding The ‘Bus Santé’ study is funded by the University Hospitals of Geneva and the General Directorate of Health, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent Obtained.

    • Ethics approval Institutional Ethics Committee of the University of Geneva.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Data sharing statement No additional data are available.