Patterns of Alcohol Consumption in the Thai Population: Results of the National Household Survey of 2007

Aims: The National Household Survey for Substance and Alcohol Use is a periodic survey of the Thai population with the aim of estimating the number of people who use licit and illicit substances. This paper reports the findings regarding alcohol consumption from the 2007 survey. Methods: A multistage sampling scheme was used. Provinces, districts, sub-districts, villages and households were randomly selected in sequence. All residents aged 12-65 years who had lived in their current household for > 3 months were included. Altogether, 11,348 households and 26,633 respondents from 29 provinces were selected. A structured interview questionnaire, including information on pattern of alcohol consumption, Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) and consequences of drinking, was used. Results: Of Thais aged 12-65 years, 63% were abstainers (men-40.9% and women-81.5%). The prevalence of current drinkers (defined as individuals who drank at least 10 g of alcohol in 12 months before the survey) was 28.6% (men-48.4% and women-12.7%). Based on the AUDIT score, 6.7% of the Thai population could be classified as hazardous drinkers, 0.9% as harmful drinkers and 0.6% as probable alcohol dependents. The median drinking intensity was 50.8 g in men and 25.4 g in women. After adjusting for other variables, predictors of being hazardous-harmful or probably dependent drinkers included male gender, age groups of 20-24 and 25-44 years, not married and living in Bangkok. Conclusion: The present study highlights the gender and age differences in drinking patterns and drinking consequences in Thailand. These issues should be taken into consideration when planning preventive measures to reduce alcohol consumption and related problems.