Alcohol consumption and self-reported ( SF12) physical and mental health among working-aged men in a typical Russian city: a cross-sectional study.

Aim To investigate the association between patterns of alcohol consumption and self-reported physical and mental health in a population with a high prevalence of hazardous drinking. Design Cross-sectional study of an age-stratified random sample of a population register. Setting The city of Izhevsk, The Russian Federation, 2008-09. Participants A total of 1031 men aged 25-60 years (68% response rate). Measurements Self-reported health was evaluated with the SF12 physical ( PCS) and mental ( MCS) component summaries. Measures of hazardous drinking (based on frequency of adverse effects of alcohol intake including hangover, excessive drunkenness and extended episodes of intoxication lasting 2 or more days) were used in addition to frequency of alcohol consumption and total volume of beverage ethanol per year. Information on smoking and socio-demographic factors were obtained. Findings Compared with abstainers, those drinking 10-19 litres of beverage ethanol per year had a PCS score 2.66 [95% confidence interval ( CI) = 0.76; 4.56] higher. Hazardous beverage drinking was associated with a lower PCS score [mean diff: −2.95 (95% CI = −5.28; −0.62)] and even more strongly with a lower MCS score [mean diff: −4.29 (95% CI = −6.87; −1.70)] compared to non-hazardous drinkers, with frequent non-beverage alcohol drinking being associated with a particularly low MCS score [−7.23 (95% CI = −11.16; −3.29)]. Adjustment for smoking and socio-demographic factors attenuated these associations slightly, but the same patterns persisted. Adjustment for employment status attenuated the associations with PCS considerably. Conclusion Among working-aged male adults in Russia, hazardous patterns of alcohol drinking are associated with poorer self-reported physical health, and even more strongly with poorer self-reported mental health. Physical health appears to be lower in those reporting complete abstinence from alcohol compared with those drinking 10-19 litres per year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]