Publication:
Testing different thresholds for risky episodic drinking – what’s so special about five drinks?

dc.contributor.author Livingston, Michael en_US
dc.date.accessioned 2021-11-25T12:28:56Z
dc.date.available 2021-11-25T12:28:56Z
dc.date.issued 2013 en_US
dc.description.abstract Background: Studies of episodic drinking typically use a measure based on the frequency of drinking five or more standard drinks (a definition which itself varies based on the standard units being used). While this threshold clearly defines drinking behaviour with a range of risks and negative consequences, there has been limited research outside of US college-based studies to determine the appropriateness of this definition. This study examines fifteen different risky-drinking thresholds to assess which definitions of risky drinking best predict negative outcomes. Methods: This paper presents an analysis of a national survey sample of 19,757 drinkers. The appropriateness of each threshold is assessed using basic risk-curves, specificity and sensitivity analyses and the performance of each threshold definition in multivariate logistic regression models. Risky drinking was defined in fifteen ways (based on frequency and volume) and tested against a series of self-reported negative outcomes and risky behaviours. Results: The study finds that the most appropriate risky drinking threshold for these data varies based on the mode of analysis and on the type of outcome being considered. Across all approaches used, risky drinking thresholds of seven or fewer drinks performed better than higher thresholds. Conclusions: While individual level risks peak at higher levels of consumption, these findings support the continuing use of relatively low thresholds for defining risky-drinking, as risk across the total population is highest at these levels. en_US
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/1959.4/53415
dc.language English
dc.language.iso EN en_US
dc.rights CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 en_US
dc.rights.uri https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/ en_US
dc.source Legacy MARC en_US
dc.subject.other risky drinking en_US
dc.subject.other alcohol en_US
dc.subject.other drinking guidelines en_US
dc.subject.other drinking thresholds en_US
dc.subject.other episodic drinking en_US
dc.title Testing different thresholds for risky episodic drinking – what’s so special about five drinks? en_US
dc.type Journal Article en
dcterms.accessRights open access
dspace.entity.type Publication en_US
unsw.accessRights.uri https://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
unsw.description.publisherStatement NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Vol. 133, No. 1, (2014), DOI 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2013.04.027 en_US
unsw.identifier.doiPublisher http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2013.04.027 en_US
unsw.relation.FunderRefNo 1053029 en_US
unsw.relation.FunderRefNoURL http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1053029 en_US
unsw.relation.faculty Medicine & Health
unsw.relation.fundingScheme NHMRC Early Career Fellowship en_US
unsw.relation.ispartofissue 1 en_US
unsw.relation.ispartofjournal Drug and Alcohol Dependence en_US
unsw.relation.ispartofpagefrompageto 248-253 en_US
unsw.relation.ispartofvolume 133 en_US
unsw.relation.originalPublicationAffiliation Livingston, Michael, National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW en_US
unsw.relation.school NDARC *
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