Alcohol drinking patterns and health-related quality of life reported in the Spanish adult population

Objectives

To examine the association between alcohol drinking patterns and health-related quality of life (HRQL).

Methods

Population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in 2008–2010 among 12,715 adult individuals in Spain. HRQL was assessed with the SF-12 questionnaire and alcohol intake with a diet history. The threshold between average moderate drinking and average heavy drinking was ≥ 40 g/day of alcohol in men and ≥ 24 g/day in women. Binge drinking was defined as the intake of ≥ 80 g in men and ≥ 60 g in women at any drinking session during the preceding 30 days. Analyses were performed with linear regression and adjusted for the main confounders.

Results

Compared to non-drinkers, all types of average drinkers reported better scores on the SF-12 physical component: β = 1.42 (95% confidence interval 1.03 to 1.81) in moderate drinkers and β = 1.86 (1.07 to 2.64) in heavy drinkers. In contrast, average alcohol consumption was not associated with the mental component of the SF-12. The number of binge drinking episodes and most types of beverage preference showed no association with physical or mental HRQL.

Conclusions

Alcohol drinkers, including those with heavy drinking, reported better physical HRQL than non-drinkers.