Alcohol: use and related problems - prevalence among foreigners and the natives in Belarus

Background

Alcohol use is a major public health problem. The problem of alcohol use might defer among the natives and foreigners in a given cultural milieu. Aim: To screen for the prevalence of alcohol use and related problems among the native Belarusians and foreigners in the general students population in Belarus.

Materials and methods

A total of 1517 respondents (172 foreigners and 1345 native Belarusians) from all major cities in Belarus enrolled for the survey. Standardized AUDIT, CAGE and MAST questionnaire including other alcohol-related questions were used as a measure. All three questionnaires were administered since it has been suggested that the CAGE might show less sensitivity, compared to the results of the MAST and AUDIT in some population [1, 2]. The Student's t and Pearson, χ2 tests were employed for analysis of results.

Results

Overall, 90% native Belarusians and 62% foreigners were alcohol users. Problem drinkers were 16% native Belarusians and 30% foreigners. A significant increase (in approximately 2 times) in the rate of alcohol use after a 2-4 years stay in Belarus was noted among the foreigners (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

There is a significant difference in the pattern of alcohol use among the foreigners and native Belarusians. The rate of alcohol use and related problems is higher among foreigners, compared to the native Belarusians.