Table 3.
Prevalencea of drinking patterns (quantity) and odds ratios (OR)b across time
| Age at participation | Timec | Moderate drinking ≤2 units on typical drinking days (drinkers only) | At-risk drinking ≥3 units/≥36 g of ethanol on typical drinking days (drinkers only) | Heavy episodic drinking (HED)d (drinkers only) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % (N) | OR (95% CI) | % (N) | OR (95% CI) | % (N) | OR (95% CI) | ||
| Women | |||||||
| 60–69 | 1 | 84.0 (928/1105) | 1 | 16.0 (177/928) | 1 | 37.2 (295/793) | 1 |
| 2 | 84.2 (1448/1719) | 1.02 (0.82–1.27) | 15.8 (271/1719) | 0.98 (0.79–1.22) | 19.9 (342/1721) | 0.43 (0.36–0.53) | |
| 3 | 78.0 (1854/2377) | 0.66 (0.54–0.81) | 22.0 (523/2377) | 1.51 (1.23–1.86) | 26.9 (646/2400) | 0.70 (0.59–0.84) | |
| 70+ | 1 | 91.6 (767/837) | 1 | 8.4 (70/837) | 1 | – | |
| 2 | 94.6 (720/761) | 1.84 (1.21–2.80) | 5.4 (41/761) | 0.54 (0.36–0.83) | 11.6 (88/756) | 1 | |
| 3 | 92.6 (1182/1277) | 1.41 (0.98–2.04) | 7.4 (95/1277) | 0.71 (0.49–1.02) | 15.1 (198/1315) | 1.50 (1.32–1.71) | |
| Men | |||||||
| 60–69 | 1 | 71.6 (904/1263) | 1 | 28.4 (359/1263) | 1 | 66.6 (749/1125) | 1 |
| 2 | 59.1 (1079/1826) | 0.53 (0.45–0.62) | 40.9 (747/1826) | 1.90 (1.61–2.24) | 60.4 (1103/1825) | 0.91 (0.77–1.07) | |
| 3 | 56.3 (1315/2337) | 0.47 (0.40–0.55) | 43.7 (1022/2337) | 2.13 (1.81–2.50) | 65.7 (1546/2352) | 1.22 (1.04–1.43) | |
| 70+ | 1 | 83.0 (703/847) | 1 | 17.0 (144/847) | 1 | – | |
| 2 | 80.3 (635/791) | 0.83 (0.63–1.08) | 19.7 (156/791) | 1.21 (0.92–1.58) | 33.9 (269/793) | 1 | |
| 3 | 75.7 (1078/1424) | 0.60 (0.47–0.76) | 24.3 (346/1424) | 1.68 (1.32–2.14) | 42.3 (614/1453) | 1.87 (1.55–2.25) | |
aAll age group by sex prevalence rate changes were statistically significant between 1994 and 95 and 2015–16, except for at-risk drinking in women aged 70+ years
bOR from Generalized Equations Models with 1994–95 as reference, stratified by age group and sex, adjusted by educational level and relationship status
cTime: 1 = Baseline, 1994–95, 2 = 2007–08, 3 = 2015–16
dHED = any drinking ≥6 units/≥72 g of ethanol in one sitting last 12 months. Only participants aged < 70 years were included in 1994–95, thus 2007–08 was set as baseline in analysis of participants aged ≥70 years