TABLE 1.
Baseline characteristics of the study sample, stratified by socio‐economic position (SEP).
| High SEP n (%)/mean (SD) | Intermediate SEP n (%)/mean (SD) | Low SEP n (%)/mean (SD) | P‐value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 9094 (24.3) | 19 077 (50.9) | 9313 (27.4) | |
| Age (years) | 46.2 (12.2) | 47.1 (12.3) | 46.6 (12.7) | |
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 4698 (51.7) | 7785 (40.8) | 4607 (49.5) | < 0.001 |
| Female | 4396 (48.3) | 11 292 (59.2) | 4706 (50.5) | |
| Country of birth | ||||
| Nordic country | 8467 (93.1) | 17 559 (92.0) | 7817 (83.9) | < 0.001 |
| Non‐Nordic country | 627 (6.9) | 1518 (8.0) | 1496 (16.1) | |
| Volume of consumption a | ||||
| Abstainers | 422 (4.6) | 1368 (7.2) | 1393 (15.0) | < 0.001 |
| Light drinkers | 3900 (42.9) | 8791 (46.1) | 4246 (45.6) | |
| Moderate drinkers | 3798 (41.8) | 6875 (36.0) | 2764 (29.7) | |
| Heavy drinkers | 974 (10.7) | 2043 (10.7) | 910 (9.8) | |
| Heavy episodic drinking (HED) b | ||||
| Abstainers | 422 (4.6) | 1368 (7.2) | 1393 (15.0) | < 0.001 |
| Drinkers with no HED | 5416 (59.6) | 10 402 (54.5) | 3658 (39.3) | |
| HED ≤ 3 times/month | 3000 (33.0) | 6465 (33.9) | 3654 (39.2) | |
| HED ≥ once a week | 256 (2.8) | 842 (4.4) | 608 (6.5) | |
| Lifestyle Index | ||||
| More healthy | 3040 (33.4) | 5526 (29.0) | 1688 (18.1) | < 0.001 |
| Moderately healthy | 5551 (61.0) | 12 087 (63.4) | 6414 (68.9) | |
| Less healthy | 503 (5.5) | 1464 (7.7) | 1211 (13.0) | |
| Self‐rated health | ||||
| Very good or good | 7583 (83.4) | 14 862 (77.9) | 6027 (64.7) | < 0.001 |
| Moderate | 1251 (13.8) | 3411 (17.9) | 2540 (27.3) | |
| Very bad or bad | 215 (2.4) | 645 (3.4) | 657 (7.1) | |
| Missing | 45 (0.5) | 159 (0.8) | 89 (1.0) | |
| Health‐related quality of life (EQ‐5D) | ||||
| No problems | 4902 (53.9) | 8692 (45.6) | 3246 (34.9) | < 0.001 |
| Some or severe problems | 4163 (45.8) | 10 286 (53.9) | 6009 (64.5) | |
| Missing | 29 (0.3) | 99 (0.5) | 58 (0.6) | |
| Poor mental health (GHQ‐12) | 1306 (14.4) | 2696 (14.1) | 1407 (15.1) | 0.226 |
| Marital status | ||||
| Married | 5095 (56.0) | 10 006 (52.5) | 4291 (46.1) | < 0.001 |
| Unmarried/partnership | 2788 (30.7) | 6171 (32.4) | 3411 (36.6) | |
| Divorced | 1080 (11.9) | 2548 (13.4) | 1418 (15.2) | |
| Widow/er | 125 (1.4) | 347 (1.8) | 188 (2.0) | |
| Missing | 6 (0.1) | 5 (0.1) | 5 (0.1) | |
| Social support | ||||
| Have social support | 8144 (90.0) | 17 000 (89.1) | 7827 (84.0) | < 0.001 |
| No social support | 922 (10.1) | 2029 (10.6) | 1437 (15.4) | |
| Missing | 28 (0.3) | 48 (0.3) | 49 (0.5) | |
| Outcome | ||||
| Alcohol‐related health problems | 219 (2.4) | 587 (3.2) | 431 (4.9) | |
SD = standard deviation; EQ‐5D = Equation 5D; GHQ = General Health Questionnaire.
a
Grams of 100% alcohol consumed in a normal week. Abstainers (0 g), light (men and women: > 0–84 g), moderate (men: > 84–252 g, women: > 84–168 g) high consumers (men: > 252 g, women: > 168 g);
b
HED = the number of times a respondent consumed beverages corresponding to minimum 120 g 100% alcohol (e.g. two bottles of wine/six cans of strong beer/a half‐bottle of spirits) during the last 12 months.