Occurrence of alcohol addiction in the adult population living in rural areas.

INTRODUCTION: Risky alcohol consumption is one of the main threats to the health of both individuals and society as a whole. These threats affect, among others, health, safety and financial situation. Their scale and intensity cause the issue of alcohol consumption to become a significant challenge for public health.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was assessment of the occurrence of the problem of alcohol consumption among residents of rural areas in Western Pomerania and the Lubuskie Province of Western Poland.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was conducted on 350 residents of rural areas - 236 females (66.4%) and 114 males (32.6%), median age - 42 y. (range - 20-76 years). The tools used included MAST and AUDIT questionnaires, Health Behaviour Inventory (HBI), Social Activity Questionnaire (SA), and original questions.

RESULTS: In the studied group the problem with proper alcohol consumption occurred. High convergence was observed between results obtained by individual respondents with both tools (r=0.868 with p<0.001). Median on the AUDIT scale indicated the possibility of alcoholism occurrence in the studied group, whereas the MAST test indicated the necessity to conduct an in-depth alcohol diagnosis. Factors that differentiated the points scored by respondents in AUDIT test included gender - more women drank alcohol in a risky way (Z=-2.54, p=0.011), education, health behaviours, professional passivity, and using various forms of support. In the AUDIT test, the alcoholism threat was over 7 times higher in people without permanent employment (vs. employed people), OR=7.41 (95% CI-4.56-12.04), and in MAST test it was over 4 times higher in these individuals: OR =4.45 (95% CI-2.64-7.49).

CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate the need to intensify the work of regional facilities for solving alcohol problems, as well as educational campaigns in schools and health care facilities.