Patterns of alcohol consumption in the Seychelles Islands (Indian Ocean)

Self-reported drinking habits were examined in a random sample of 1067 persons aged 25-64 years in the Seychelles, a country in epidemiological transition where consumption of home-brewed, mostly unregistered beverages has been traditionally high. Alcohol consumption was calculated from respondents reporting at least one drink per week ('regular drinkers'). Among men, 51.1% were regular drinkers and had average intake of 112.1 ml alcohol a day. Among women, 5.9% were regular drinkers and had 49.7 ml alcohol a day. Frequency of drinking, but not amount per drinker, was slightly less in the 25-34-year than older-age categories. Home-brews (mostly palm toddy and fermented sugar cane juice) were consumed by 52% of regular drinkers and accounted for 54% of the total alcohol intake reported by all regular drinkers. Based on the reported consumption by regular drinkers only, the average annual alcohol consumption amounted respectively to 20.7 litres and 1.2 litres per man and woman aged 25-64 years, or, using extrapolation, 13.2 litres and 0.8 litres per man and woman respectively of the total population. These values may underestimate the true figures by half, since reported beer consumption accounted for 53% of beer sales. Socio-economic status was associated strongly and inversely with home-brew consumption, but slightly and positively with consumption of commercially marketed beverages. Alcohol intake was associated with smoking, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, carbohydrate-deficient transferrin and blood pressure, but not with age and body mass index. In conclusion, these data show high alcohol consumption in the Seychelles with an important gender difference, a large proportion of alcohol derived from home-brews, and opposite tendencies for the relationships between socio-economic status and home-made or commercially marketed beverages.