Prevalence of Alcohol Use Among Inter-city Commercial Passenger Drivers In Sokoto, Nigeria

Background: Alcohol has been reported to be frequently used among vehicle drivers in western societies. Few studies have been done in North western Nigeria.Aim: To estimate the prevalence of alcohol use among commercial interstate vehicle (cars and buses) drivers.Methods: A cross sectional prospective study was conducted in Sokoto metropolis of Sokoto state in Nigeria in October 2010. Drivers from state owned central motor park in Sokoto were recruited for this study. Sociodemographic data was collected using a selfcostructed questionnaire. Alcohol use was assessed using WHO instrument AUDIT (alcohol use disorders identification test).Results: Overall, 167 subjects participated. They were all males with mean age of 43.32± 8.01years. Ninety percent of them were married with majority of them having only primary education (54.4%). The prevalence of alcohol use was 22.8%. Also among those who used alcohol, 60% of them had alcohol dependence. Prevalence of alcohol use and alcohol use disorders was higher among the younger subjects than the older one. In addition, low education attainment was associated with high prevalence of alcohol use disorder.Conclusion: This study suggested that alcohol use among commercial vehicle drivers in Sokoto is not infrequent. Future studies should assess for the impact of this finding on road traffic accident