Consumo de alcohol, riesgo de alcoholismo y alcoholismo en Bucaramanga, Colombia, 2002-2003

Objective: To quantify the usual intake of alcohol (CA), the derived energy of the CA, the risk of alcoholism (RA) according to the test CAGE and the related variables an study descriptive carried out in Bucaramanga, Colombia, during 2002-2003. Materials and methods: Hundred eight subjects among 18-60 years recorded daily and during twelve weeks their intake of alcoholic drinks. Explanatory variables were classified in biological, socioeconomic and dietary. The test of CAGE was applied. With lineal and binomial regression we established the variables related to the CA and RA. Results: The usual intake of alcohol (g) by week is 83.5 IC (77.6, 89.3), adjusted by age, schooling and body mass index (BMI) was 108.7 IC (100.1, 117.3) for men and 55.5 IC (53.4, 57.6) for women; (p<0.001). According to CAGE, 14.8% IC (8.0, 21.6) of the population, 22.6% IC (11.3, 34.0) of the men and 7.3% IC (2.9, 14.2) of the women are classified in high risk of alcoholism (p<0.001). The energy intake associated to the CA for occasion was 778.2 kilocalories IC (717.5, 838.9). There was not relationship between the CA and the BMI. The sex and CA was related (p<0.001). None biological, socioeconomic and dietary variable was related with the RA. Conclusions: The estimates of the usual intake of alcohol are good to establish equivalences in future studies. The use or abuse of alcohol increased in the last decade. Given the intake frequency and the consumed quantity, this can be considered as a toxic in this population. The investigation to understand the CA and the RA is necessary