Prevalence and correlates of heavy episodic drinking among middle-aged and older adults in India: Results of a national survey in 2017-2018

Abstract

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and correlates of heavy episodic drinking (HED) among middle-aged and older adults in India. The study included 72,262 individuals (45 years and older) from the cross-sectional 2017-2018 Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) Wave 1. Results indicate a prevalence of HED of 2.9%, 6.1% among men and 0.5% among women. In adjusted logistic regression analysis, male sex (Adjusted Odds Ratio = AOR: 7.87, 95% Confidence Interval = CI: 5.97-10.36), Christian (AOR: 2.28, 95% CI: 1.76-2.96), Sikh (AOR: 3.79, 95% CI: 2.87-5.01), current tobacco use (AOR: 3.87, 95% CI: 3.23-4.63), and high discrimination experiences (AOR: 1.66, 95% CI: 1.11-2.46) were positively associated with HED. Older age (≥70 years) (AOR: 0.47, 95% CI: 0.36-0.60), higher education (≥10 years) (AOR: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.48-0.78), Muslim (AOR: 0.10, 95% CI: 0.06-0.17), daily prayer (AOR: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.51-0.73), and overweight/obesity (AOR: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.60-0.87) were negatively associated with HED. In addition, in unadjusted analyses, lower subjective socioeconomic status, married, underweight, and vigorous physical activity were positively associated with HED. A low prevalence of HED was found and several associated factors were identified.