TY - JOUR
T1 - Men's decrease and women's increase in harmful alcohol use from the 2014 to 2018 national surveys in Taiwan
T2 - A harbinger for an emerging national trend in East Asia?
AU - Huang, Yu Chieh
AU - Wu, Shang Chi
AU - Hsiao, Po Chang
AU - Chen, Lian Yu
AU - Ting, Te Tien
AU - Chen, Chuan Yu
AU - Kuan, Chia Lin Catherine
AU - Tu, Yu Kang
AU - Huang, Jiun Hau
AU - Yen, Cheng Fang
AU - Yang, Hao Jan
AU - Li, Chung Yi
AU - Yen, Chia Feng
AU - Chen, Wei J.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by grants from the Food and Drug Administration, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taiwan ( 103TFDA-N-001 , and 107TFDA-N-001 ). We thank the collaborating researchers of the 2014 National Survey of Substance Use in Taiwan for their help in designing and implementing the survey, including Wen-Ing Tsay, Yen-Tyng Chen, Ya-Hui Yu, Carol Strong, and Jui Hsu.
Funding Information:
This work was supported by grants from the Food and Drug Administration, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taiwan (103TFDA-N-001, and 107TFDA-N-001). We thank the collaborating researchers of the 2014 National Survey of Substance Use in Taiwan for their help in designing and implementing the survey, including Wen-Ing Tsay, Yen-Tyng Chen, Ya-Hui Yu, Carol Strong, and Jui Hsu.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2022/1
Y1 - 2022/1
N2 - Background: Gender differences in alcohol use have narrowed in Western societies, but that in Asia has been less investigated. By comparing the 2014 and 2018 waves of the national survey in Taiwan, we aimed to examine the gender differences in population trends in past-month alcohol use, binge drinking, and harmful alcohol use. Methods: The national survey enrolled 17,837 participants in 2014 and 18,626 participants in 2018. Binge drinking was defined as having ≥5 drinks on one occasion in the past month, and harmful alcohol use as having an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test score of ≥8. Results: There were significant decreases from 2014 to 2018 in the population's prevalence of past-month alcohol use, binge drinking, and harmful alcohol use. However, males and females had different trends: males showed significant reductions in all three alcohol use behaviours (a decrease of 3.79%, 1.59%, and 2.60%, respectively), while females exhibited a significant rise in harmful alcohol use (from 1.32% to 1.72%), particularly among those aged 18–29 years. Conclusion: There was gender convergence in alcohol use in Taiwan, mainly due to men's decrease and women's increase in harmful alcohol use. Our findings have important implications for the intervention and prevention of the problematic use of alcohol in East Asia.
AB - Background: Gender differences in alcohol use have narrowed in Western societies, but that in Asia has been less investigated. By comparing the 2014 and 2018 waves of the national survey in Taiwan, we aimed to examine the gender differences in population trends in past-month alcohol use, binge drinking, and harmful alcohol use. Methods: The national survey enrolled 17,837 participants in 2014 and 18,626 participants in 2018. Binge drinking was defined as having ≥5 drinks on one occasion in the past month, and harmful alcohol use as having an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test score of ≥8. Results: There were significant decreases from 2014 to 2018 in the population's prevalence of past-month alcohol use, binge drinking, and harmful alcohol use. However, males and females had different trends: males showed significant reductions in all three alcohol use behaviours (a decrease of 3.79%, 1.59%, and 2.60%, respectively), while females exhibited a significant rise in harmful alcohol use (from 1.32% to 1.72%), particularly among those aged 18–29 years. Conclusion: There was gender convergence in alcohol use in Taiwan, mainly due to men's decrease and women's increase in harmful alcohol use. Our findings have important implications for the intervention and prevention of the problematic use of alcohol in East Asia.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103441
DO - 10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103441
M3 - Article
C2 - 34503897
AN - SCOPUS:85114415914
VL - 99
JO - International Journal of Drug Policy
JF - International Journal of Drug Policy
SN - 0955-3959
M1 - 103441
ER -