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Patterns of alcohol consumption in 10 European countries participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) project

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

S Sieri ,
A Agudo ,
E Kesse ,
K Klipstein-Grobusch ,
B San-José ,
AA Welch ,
V Krogh ,
R Luben ,
N Allen  and
K Overvad
...Show all authors
S Sieri*
Affiliation:
Epidemiology Unit, National Cancer Institute, Via Venezian 1, 20133 Milan, Italy
A Agudo
Affiliation:
Catalan Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, Spain
E Kesse
Affiliation:
Institute Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France
K Klipstein-Grobusch
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition, Potsdam-Rehbrücke, Germany
B San-José
Affiliation:
University of Athens, Greece
AA Welch
Affiliation:
Institute of Public Health, University of Cambridge, UK
V Krogh
Affiliation:
Epidemiology Unit, National Cancer Institute, Via Venezian 1, 20133 Milan, Italy
R Luben
Affiliation:
University of Athens, Greece
N Allen
Affiliation:
Cancer Research UK, Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford, UK
K Overvad
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Aarhus, Denmark
A Tjønneland
Affiliation:
Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Copenhagen, Denmark
F Clavel-Chapelon
Affiliation:
Institute Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France
A Thiébaut
Affiliation:
Institute Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France
AB Miller
Affiliation:
Division of Clinical Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Centre, Heidelberg, Germany
H Boeing
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition, Potsdam-Rehbrücke, Germany
M Kolyva
Affiliation:
University of Athens, Greece
C Saieva
Affiliation:
Molecular and Nutritional Epidemiology Unit, CSPO, Scientific Institute of Tuscany, Florence, Italy
E Celentano
Affiliation:
Epidemiology Unit, National Cancer Institute, Naples, Italy
MC Ocké
Affiliation:
Department for Chronic Diseases Epidemiology, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands
PHM Peeters
Affiliation:
Julius Center for General Practice and Patient Oriented Research, Utrecht, The Netherlands
M Brustad
Affiliation:
Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø, Norway
M Kumle
Affiliation:
Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø, Norway
M Dorronsoro
Affiliation:
Public Health Division of Gipuzkoa, Department of Health of Basque Government, San Sebastian, Spain
A Fernandez Feito
Affiliation:
Public Health Directorate, Health Council and Health Services Asturias, Oviedo, Spain
I Mattisson
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, Surgery and Orthopaedics, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
L Weinehall
Affiliation:
Epidemiology and Nutritional Research, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Sweden
E Riboli
Affiliation:
International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France
N Slimani
Affiliation:
International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France
*
*Corresponding author: Email sieris@libero.it
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Abstract

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bjective:

The aim of this study was to compare the quantities of alcohol and types of alcoholic beverages consumed, and the timing of consumption, in centres participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). These centres, in 10 European countries, are characterised by widely differing drinking habits and frequencies of alcohol-related diseases.

Methods:

We collected a single standardised 24-hour dietary recall per subject from a random sample of the EPIC cohort (36 900 persons initially and 35 955 after exclusion of subjects under 35 and over 74 years of age). This provided detailed information on the distribution of alcohol consumption during the day in relation to main meals, and was used to determine weekly consumption patterns. The crude and adjusted (by age, day of week and season) means of total ethanol consumption and consumption according to type of beverage were stratified by centre and sex.

Results:

Sex was a strong determinant of drinking patterns in all 10 countries. The highest total alcohol consumption was observed in the Spanish centres (San Sebastian, 41.4 g day−1) for men and in Danish centres (Copenhagen, 20.9 g day−1) for women. The lowest total alcohol intake was in the Swedish centres (Umeå, 10.2 g day−1) in men and in Greek women (3.4 g day−1). Among men, the main contributor to total alcohol intake was wine in Mediterranean countries and beer in the Dutch, German, Swedish and Danish centres. In most centres, the main source of alcohol for women was wine except for Murcia (Spain), where it was beer. Alcohol consumption, particularly by women, increased markedly during the weekend in nearly all centres. The German, Dutch, UK (general population) and Danish centres were characterised by the highest percentages of alcohol consumption outside mealtimes.

Conclusions:

The large variation in drinking patterns among the EPIC centres provides an opportunity to better understand the relationship between alcohol and alcohol-related diseases.

Keywords

Alcohol consumption24-Hour dietary recallEPIC studyEurope
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 5 , Issue 6b , December 2002 , pp. 1287 - 1296
Copyright
Copyright © CABI Publishing 2002

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