Socioeconomic Status, Alcohol Use, and Pregnancy Intention in a National Sample of Women

Using data from the 2004 and 2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a cross-sectional study was conducted to explore the role of socioeconomic status as a potential modifier on the relationship between a woman’s intention to become pregnant and her drinking behaviors. The analytic sample included 37,777 fertile women aged 18–44 years. The primary outcomes were any, heavy, or binge drinking. The analysis included three separate multivariable logistic regression models to account for the complex survey methodology utilized in the BRFSS. In the unadjusted models, women intending a pregnancy were less likely to drink at heavy (OR = 0.68, CI = 0.50, 0.93) or binge (OR = 0.80, CI = 0.67, 0.96) levels compared to those not intending a pregnancy. Adjusted regression models indicated that both education and income modified the relation between pregnancy intention and any drinking and binge drinking. After performing a multivariable regression model stratified by education, women who had more than a high school education and were intending to become pregnant were 28 % less likely to binge drink than those not intending a pregnancy (OR = 0.72, CI = 0.57, 0.90). Stratification by income indicated that women intending to become pregnant within the middle income categories were less likely to drink any alcohol compared to those not intending a pregnancy. Pregnancy intention and binge drinking were associated among women with more than a high school education, with those intending a pregnancy being less likely to binge drink. Generally, as education increased, the association between income and binge drinking weakened.