Brazilian Health Survey (2013): Relation between alcohol use and sociodemographic characteristics by sex in Brazil

Objective: To analyze sociodemographic factors associated with alcohol use according to gender in Brazil. Methods: Cross-sectional study using data from 2013 Brazilian Health Survey about 60,202 adults. We analyzed recent alcohol use and heavy episodic drinking in the 30 days prior to the research stratified by gender. The covariates were: age, educational level, skin color, marital status, and place of residence. Results: The prevalence of recent alcohol use was 26.5%. In women, the prevalence was 14.4%; in men, 38.1%. In women, recent alcohol use was associated with younger age, higher educational level, being single or separated/ divorced, and living in urban areas. In men, there was association with white skin color in addition to these factors. Among adults who used alcohol, 51.5% reported heavy episodic drinking - in women, this proportion was 43.4%; in men, 55.0%. In women, heavy episodic drinking was associated with younger age, being single or separated/divorced and living in urban areas; white skin color and higher educational level had negative association with this pattern. In men, heavy episodic drinking was directly associated with younger age and being single or divorced and inversely to white skin color; there was no significant relation with education and place of residence. Conclusion: We observed that men consume more alcohol than women. There is a convergence of alcohol consumption, including heavy episodic drinking, between men and women who are younger, single and divorced, and residents of urban areas. Skin color, educational level, and place of residence showed variations in the models by sex.