Aims: The aim of the study was to investigate (i) whether the strength of the relationship between self-reported volume of consumption and alcohol-related problems has become weaker in Sweden, and (ii) whether such a change can be related to temporal changes in drinking patterns or to changes in the distribution of consumption and related problems in the population.
Methods: Three cross-sectional general population surveys conducted in Sweden in 1979, 1995 and 2003 yielded data on 5650 Swedish adults aged 18-69 years. The relationship between self-reported volume of consumption and self-reported alcohol-related problems was estimated using Poisson regression models. Analyses of drinking patterns focused on changes in frequency of drinking, volume per occasion and frequency of drinking to intoxication. Lorenz curves were used to analyse the distributions of consumption and alcohol-related problems.
Results: Poisson regression estimates revealed that the relationship between volume of consumption and alcohol-related problems became weaker over time; a 10% per cent change in self-reported volume of consumption was associated with a smaller per cent change in the number of experienced problems in 2003 (5%) compared with 1995 (6%) and 1979 (7%). This change was not related to a hypothesized general shift towards a more southern European style of drinking, as no such tendency was found.
Conclusion: The changed relationship appears to be a reflection of a redistribution of consumption and alcohol-related problems in the population, such that a larger share of all consumption and related problems occurs among light or moderate drinkers in 2003 compared with 1979.