Alcohol measurement methodology in epidemiology: recent advances and opportunities
AddictionPublished 16 April 2008Open access
Thomas K. Greenfield, William C. Kerr
Citations346
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SJR score2.36
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TL;DR
Cognitive studies suggest inherent limitations in the measurement enterprise, yet diary studies show promise of broadly validating methods that assess a range of drinking amounts per occasion; improvements in survey measures of drinking in the life course are indicated.
Abstract
AIM: To review and discuss measurement issues in survey assessment of alcohol consumption for epidemiological studies. METHODS: The following areas are considered: implications of cognitive studies of question answering such as self-referenced schemata of drinking, reference period and retrospective recall, as well as the assets and liabilities of types of current (e.g. food frequency, quantity-frequency, graduated frequencies and heavy drinking indicators) and life-time drinking measures. Finally we consider units of measurement and improving measurement by detailing the ethanol content of drinks in natural settings. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive studies suggest inherent limitations in the measurement enterprise, yet diary studies show promise of broadly validating methods that assess a range of drinking amounts per occasion; improvements in survey measures of drinking in the life course are indicated; attending in detail to on- and off-premise drink pour sizes and ethanol concentrations of various beverages shows promise of narrowing the coverage gap plaguing survey alcohol measurement.
Keywords
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Interest has broadened beyond the traditional problem of alcoholism, to include drunkenness offences and the increased risk of industrial or road accidents associated with drinking.
AddictionA comparative multi‐level analysis of contextual drinking in American and Canadian adults
49 Citations2006Sylvia Kairouz, Thomas K. Greenfield
There is a need, from a population health perspective, for a multi-level approach in epidemiology and prevention that considers drinking setting as a relevant level for analysis and intervention.
Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental ResearchEstimates of the Mean Alcohol Concentration of the Spirits, Wine, and Beer Sold in the United States and Per Capita Consumption: 1950 to 2002
49 Citations2006William C. Kerr, Thomas K. Greenfield +1 more
Empirically based calculation of mean %ABV for beer, wine, and spirits sold in the United States results in different and presumably more accurate per capita consumption estimates than heretofore available.
Journal of Studies on AlcoholAccuracy of retrospective measurement of individual alcohol consumption in men; a reinterview after 18 years.
49 Citations1983Jussi Simpura, Kari Poikolainen
The original consumption was the best regressor of the recalled consumption, but the magnitude and direction of error in remembering the original consumption varied considerably.
Drug and Alcohol DependenceAge–period–cohort influences on trends in past year marijuana use in the US from the 1984, 1990, 1995 and 2000 National Alcohol Surveys
48 Citations2006William C. Kerr, Thomas K. Greenfield +3 more
Trend results from the NAS differ from those in other surveys and indicate decreased prevalence of past year marijuana use and gender convergence, which confirm past findings of age effects and cohort differences between those born before and after 1945.
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