Citation

Seidler IK, Thygesen LC, Bjerregaard P, Larsen CVL. Int. J. Circumpolar Health. 2022; 81(1): e2089379.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, International Union for Circumpolar Health, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/22423982.2022.2089379

PMID

35698457

Abstract

A drinking pattern characterised by occasional excessive drinking is a key challenge for public health in Greenland. The objective was to examine sex-specific time trends in drinking patterns among Greenland Inuit. Cross-sectional and cohort data from geographically representative health surveys in 1993, 2005-2010 and 2014 were included (n = 4,938). Drinking patterns were defined as abstainer, non-problematic and occasional binge drinking. Patterns were analysed by sex-specific crude proportions and logistical analyses according to age, birth cohort and calendar time, accounting for region and settlement type. More than half of the men and one-third of the women had an occasional binge drinking pattern, while 22.6% of females and 15.1% of men were abstainers. Abstention increased with increasing age, while occasional binge drinking decreased among men. Younger male birth cohorts were less likely to have an occasional binge drinking pattern, while the youngest females had the highest odds ratio. A drinking pattern characterised by occasional excessive use remains a key challenge for public health in Greenland with age as a strong predictor. A high prevalence of abstainers co-exists with a high prevalence of occasional binge drinking. The increased odds ratio for occasional binge drinking among younger females should be addressed further.

Language: en

Keywords

Humans; Female; Male; Cross-Sectional Studies; Health Behavior; Prevalence; health surveys; *Alcohol Drinking/epidemiology; *Binge Drinking/epidemiology; arctic; Drinking patterns; Greenland; indigenous; Indigenous Peoples; time trends