Epidemiology of alcohol consumption in an urban area of Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu

INTRODUCTION: In India, the ever increasing production, promotion, distribution, and the easy availability and accessibility of alcohol together with the changing values in the society have resulted in alcohol consumption becoming one of the major public health problems. AIMS: The study was undertaken to find out the prevalence of alcohol consumption and its epidemiological determinants in an urban area of Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu. METHODOLOGY: This descriptive cross-sectional study was done among adult males above 18 years of age in Anakaputhur area of Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu. Simple random sampling method was used to select the study participants to reach the required sample size of 400. Pretested structured questionnaire was used as study tool to collect data regarding alcohol consumption practices. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22. RESULTS: The prevalence of alcohol consumption among the study participants was found to be 39%. The major determinants of alcohol consumption which were found to be statistically significant were age less than 45 years, those belonging to a nuclear family, those who consume tobacco, consumption of alcohol by family members, those who did not receive advice regarding harmful effects of alcohol from family members, those having stigma of being a nondrinker among friends/peers and those having awareness of health problems caused due to alcohol consumption. CONCLUSION: This study shows that it is high time we change the approach of educating the public about the effects of alcohol consumption by intensive behavioral change continuum activities at a younger age group, coupled with encouraging refusal skills to overcome peer pressure.