摘要：Temporal variations in drinking – analyses of monthly variations in alcohol consumption and binge drinking in Sweden Aim To study gender- and age-specific variation in, and co-variation between, alcohol consumption and the frequency of binge drinking. Method The analyses were mainly based on self-reported data of alcohol consumption and binge drinking collected monthly from general adult population surveys conducted between July 2001 and May 2003. A total of 1500 interviews were completed in the age group 16–80 years each month. Results The Swedish alcohol consumption varies by month with the highest level found during the summer months, particularly July, and in December. This was the same across both genders and for most age groups. A similar pattern was seen for the frequency of binge drinking. Conclusions The highest frequency of binge drinking by Swedes was found to be during the same months as when they drink the most amount of alcohol. The peak in July is probably due to the fact that this is the typical holiday month in Sweden. The paper discusses the possibility that the temporal drinking patterns in Sweden (and in other Nordic countries) will gradually change in the future, and will keep pace with an increase in both alcohol consumption and the number of drinking occasions.
关键词：alcohol consumption ; monthly variations ; age ; gender ; binge drinking ; Sweden
