Abstract
Objective:
To analyze alcohol consumption among public maintenance workers and identify the associated sociodemographic factors.
Methods:
This is a quantitative cross-sectional study conducted with the public maintenance workers of a university in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Data were collected using a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT).
Results:
It was found that 78% of the workers had consumed alcoholic beverages in the last 12 months. Of these workers, 43% were low-risk consumers, 50% were heavy drinkers, and 7% showed a pattern of consumption that is indicative of dependency. Moreover, 54% reported they had four or more drinks and 82% reported they were binge drinkers. The factors associated with consumption were years of schooling, position, gender, income, and skin color, and the consumption of four or more doses was associated with the position of manual laborer.
Conclusion:
It was identified that the prevalence of workers with “hazardous use” or “dependence symptoms” was greater (in descriptive terms) than the prevalence identified in a major national survey. Years of schooling was the most relevant demographic factor since the chances of “hazardous use” or “dependence symptoms” increased by 20% as each year of schooling decreased.
Keywords
Alcohol-related disorders; Alcohol drinking; Workers; Occupational health; Occupational health nursing
