Gender Differences in Heavy Alcohol Use: A General Population Survey (the Genacis Project) of São Paulo City, Brazil

Abstract

The article examines patterns of alcohol consumption in a community sample from São Paulo City, Brazil. A household survey-was carried out with a representative urban sample, stratified by clusters. The GENACIS questionnaire was used in 1473 face-to-face interviews. There was a predominance of females (58.7%) and those under 40 years of age (53.2%). For both genders heavy drinking (HD) was associated with having an HD partner and feeling less inhibited about sex when drinking. For men HD was associated with a younger age (p = 0.006) and for women with drinking alone (< 0.001). A positive attitude towards drinking and sex and having a partner who also was a heavy drinker were thus predictors of HD for both genders. Younger men and women drinking alone were more at risk of heavy drinking.