Commentary on Meng etal. (2014): Diverging alcohol consumption across populations-issues for policy and intervention

摘要

Meng and colleagues [1] provide a detailed exploration of alcohol consumption trends in the British general population over a 25-year period, taking into account gender differences in age, period and cohort effects. Using time-series modelling to understand drinking patterns more clearly is essential in identifying risky alcohol consumption, and also anticipating and responding to changing patterns of acute and chronic alcohol-related harms over time. In developed countries, alcohol-related harms are increasing in the context of apparently stable alcohol consumption levels within the general population [2-5]. There are several potential explanations for these divergent trends. Alcohol consumption surveys are limited by poor response rates, meaning that inherent differences between participants and those who decline can mask the true consumption patterns within the community [6]. Also, routine data collection practices, using home telephones and home drop-and-collect methodology, are barriers to recruitment of hard-to-reach populations, such as homeless and institutionalized people, culturally and linguistically diverse populations and other disadvantaged groups [6].