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Themenschwerpunkt

Age, Period, and Cohort Effects on Time Trends in Alcohol Consumption in the German Adult Population

Alters-, Perioden- und Kohorteneinflüsse auf Trends im Alkoholkonsum in der deutschen Allgemeinbevölkerung

Published Online:November 18, 2010https://doi.org/10.1024/0939-5911/a000046

Abstract

Aims: To estimate independent age, period, and cohort effects on time trends in alcohol volume and episodic heavy drinking in Germany. Method: Data from six waves of the German Epidemiological Survey of Substance Abuse (ESA) between 1995 and 2009 were used. The analytical sample comprised n = 34,542 individuals aged 18 to 64 years with at least one drinking occasion in the last 30 days. Alcohol volume was derived from beverage-specific quantity frequency questions. Episodic heavy drinking was specified as the number of days with five or more alcoholic drinks at a single occasion. Results: On average across age and cohort groups, alcohol consumption has considerably declined over the last 15 years. Cohort effects indicate a decline in alcohol volume from the 1940s to the 1970s birth cohort groups and a steep increase in younger cohorts. Moreover, cohorts born after 1980 were found to drink more often to intoxication than older cohorts. Age variations in trends were rather small compared to period and cohort effects. Conclusions: Despite the steady declining trend in alcohol consumption in the German general population, there is a tendency toward riskier drinking patterns among the youngest cohorts. This underlines the need for alcohol policy measures.


Ziel: Untersucht wurden Alters-, Perioden- und Kohorteneinflüsse auf Trends durchschnittlichen und riskanten Alkoholkonsums in der deutschen Allgemeinbevölkerung. Methodik: Daten von sechs Erhebungszeitpunkten des Epidemiologischen Suchtsurveys (ESA) zwischen 1995 und 2009 wurden analysiert. Die Stichprobe umfasste 34.542 Personen im Alter zwischen 18 und 64 Jahren, die in den letzten 30 Tagen Alkohol getrunken hatten. Durchschnittlicher Alkoholkonsum wurde mit einem getränkespezifischen Frequenz-Menge-Index erfasst. Episodisches Rauschtrinken war definiert als die Anzahl der Tage, an denen fünf oder mehr Gläser Alkohol zu einer Gelegenheit konsumiert wurden. Ergebnisse: Im Mittel über Alters- und Kohortengruppen zeigt sich insgesamt ein rückläufiger Trend im Durchschnitts- und Rauschkonsum in den letzten 15 Jahren. Kohorteneffekte deuten auf einen rückläufigen Durchschnittskonsum in den Geburtskohorten zwischen den 1940er und 1970er Jahren hin. In jüngeren Kohorten war jedoch ein deutlicher Anstieg der Konsummenge zu beobachten. Zudem tranken Geburtskohorten nach 1980 deutlich häufiger bis zum Rausch als ältere Kohorten. Altersunterschiede in den Trinkmustern waren verglichen mit Perioden- und Kohorteneinflüssen eher klein. Schlussfolgerung: Trotz des konstant rückläufigen Alkoholkonsums in der deutschen Allgemeinbevölkerung zeigt sich vor allem bei jüngeren Kohorten eine Tendenz zu riskanten Konsummustern. Dies erfordert die (Weiter-) Entwicklung alkoholpolitischer Maßnahmen.

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