Table 1.
Baseline demographic and health related characteristics of 1 937 360 adults according to clinically recorded drinking category. Figures are percentages* unless stated otherwise
| Non-drinker (14.3%) | Former drinker (3.7%) | Occasional drinker (11.9%) | Moderate drinker (61.7%) | Heavy drinker (8.4%) | Alcohol status missing | Total | |
| Mean (SD) age (years) | 48.5 (16.6) | 49.5 (16.6) | 48.1 (15.7) | 45.8 (14.2) | 45.8 (12.7) | 48.0 (16.1) | 47.1 (15.4) |
| Men | 33.1 | 37.3 | 33.5 | 49.8 | 66.9 | 53.5 | 49.5 |
| Women | 66.9 | 62.7 | 66.5 | 50.2 | 33.1 | 46.5 | 50.5 |
| Most deprived 5th of socioeconomic deprivation | 30.6 | 28.9 | 25.1 | 15.7 | 20.5 | 20.1 | 20.0 |
| Smoking status: | |||||||
| Non-smoker | 72.3 | 49.5 | 62.0 | 58.9 | 39.4 | 73.8 | 63.5 |
| Former smoker | 10.2 | 20.7 | 15.9 | 18.7 | 21.2 | 13.3 | 16.2 |
| Current smoker | 17.5 | 29.8 | 22.1 | 22.4 | 39.5 | 12.9 | 20.3 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 129.3 (19.0) | 130.5 (18.2) | 129.9 (18.2) | 129.3 (17.0) | 133.5 (17.1) | 133.7 (18.9) | 131.0 (18.1) |
| Categories of BMI: | |||||||
| Underweight (<18.5) | 3.2 | 3.2 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 2.7 | 2.1 |
| Normal weight (18.5-24) | 41.8 | 39.5 | 40.5 | 45 | 41.2 | 39.4 | 43.0 |
| Overweight (25-29) | 32.3 | 32.3 | 33.8 | 35.9 | 38.6 | 32.4 | 34.9 |
| Moderately obese (30-34) | 19.8 | 21.6 | 20.6 | 16 | 17.1 | 22 | 17.9 |
| Morbidly obese (≥35) | 2.9 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 3.5 | 2.1 |
| Diabetes | 5.1 | 6.7 | 3.7 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 1.9 | 2.6 |
| Median (IQR) HDLC concentration (mmol/L) | 1.3 (1.1-1.5) | 1.2 (1.0-1.5) | 1.3 (1.1-1.6) | 1.3 (1.1-1.6) | 1.4 (1.2-1.8) | 1.3 (1.1-1.6) | 1.3 (1.1-1.6) |
| Used anti-hypertensive drugs | 19.7 | 26.6 | 21.1 | 16.1 | 17.2 | 15.1 | 16.6 |
| Used statins | 4.4 | 7.0 | 3.9 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 1.3 | 2.5 |
| Offered dietary advice | 45.9 | 58.7 | 53.8 | 47.9 | 45.6 | 9.6 | 31.8 |
BMI=body mass index; IQR=interquartile range; HDLC=high density lipoprotein cholesterol.
*Row percentages displayed for drinking categories calculated only within those with information on alcohol consumption (n=1 104 838; 57% of overall sample). In imputed data, drinking category proportions are as follows: 14.7% non-drinkers, 3.2% former drinkers, 11.6% occasional drinkers, 62.4% moderate drinkers, and 8.1% heavy drinkers. Proportion of participants with non-missing values of covariates: smoking 73.0% (1 413 749 participants), systolic blood pressure 73.2% (1 418 578 participants), BMI 30.6% (592 127 participants), and HDLC 5.5% (107 080 participants). All other covariates have 100% coverage.