Binge drinking and occupation, North Dakota, 2004-2005

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Occupational Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Binge drinking poses significant public health risks, including preventable mortality, employee absenteeism, and reduced productivity.
• Limited data exists on the prevalence of binge drinking across various occupational groups.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of binge drinking among employees in North Dakota by primary occupation.
• To identify specific occupations with high rates of binge drinking and assess associated factors.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the 2004-2005 North Dakota Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
• Defined binge drinking as consuming five or more alcoholic drinks per occasion within the past 30 days.
• Employed logistic regression to analyze the association between binge drinking and primary occupation.

Main Results:

• Overall, 24.1% of North Dakota workers reported binge drinking.
• Highest prevalence observed in farm/ranch employees (45.3%), food/drink servers (33.4%), and farm/ranch owners (32.5%).
• Health care workers had the lowest prevalence (13.2%), but those in high-prevalence occupations had lower health insurance coverage.

Conclusions:

• Significant occupational disparities in binge drinking prevalence exist among North Dakota workers.
• Recommendations include implementing employer-sponsored and population-based interventions to curb binge drinking.
• Targeted interventions are crucial for workers in high-prevalence occupations who also have limited health insurance.