Original Article
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2008) 62, 286–291; doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602728; published online 21 March 2007
Comparison of assessment methods for self-reported alcohol consumption in health interview surveys
Contributors: OE and MG conceived the original idea, OE conducted the statistical analyses, OE, KS-L and KC drafted the manuscript, which all authors subsequently reviewed, edited and approved. MG contributed to the design of the survey questions and supervised the study.
O Ekholm1, K Strandberg-Larsen1, K Christensen1 and M Grønbæk1
1National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
Correspondence: O Ekholm, National Institute of Public Health, Øster Farimagsgade 5A, 2nd floor, 1399 Copenhagen, Denmark. E-mail: oek@niph.dk
Received 4 October 2006; Revised 6 February 2007; Accepted 8 February 2007; Published online 21 March 2007.
Abstract
Objective:
To select a simple method for assessing alcohol consumption and to compare how different reference periods and response categories influence the self-reported frequency of binge drinking.
Design:
Four random samples of 1000 adult Danes. Data were collected via personal interview at the respondents' home.
Setting:
Denmark, nationwide.
Participants:
The total number of interviewed was 2593 individuals.
Measurements:
The assessment methods in the four samples were (1) the 7-day recall method, (2) intake each day in a typical week, (3) intake last weekend, and (4) intake in a typical week. Furthermore, binge drinking was assessed in the samples using different reference periods and response formats.
Findings:
The sex- and age-adjusted mean number of drinks in the last week (the 7-day recall method) was 10.6 drinks compared to 10.4 drinks among respondents reporting their intake for each day in a typical week and 8.7 drinks among subjects reporting the average intake in a typical week. Furthermore, subjects that reported their typical intake for each day were as likely as subjects that had the 7-day recall method to report a high weekly alcohol intake. Respondents who had close-ended questions were more likely to report binge drinking compared to respondents that had open-ended questions.
Conclusions:
Questions concerning typical alcohol intake for each day of the week are feasible to use in epidemiological studies. Furthermore, it is more appropriate to use close-ended questions compared to open-ended questions in measuring binge-drinking when the reference period is long.
Keywords:
alcohol drinking, data collection, interviews, questionnaires, health surveys
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