Drinks per day in women of Mexican origin: does birth place matter?

Historically, Mexican-born women who immigrate to the United States (U.S.) have lower levels of alcohol use and higher rates of abstinence compared with Mexican American women born in the U.S. and other racial groups in the U.S. As such, immigrant women's alcohol use has received limited attention by the research community. Gaps in knowledge of their alcohol use patterns, changes in healthy drinking recommendation for women, and projections of population growth in both Mexican immigrant and Mexican American populations support the need for the study. Data from the Center for Disease Control's National Health Interview Survey were used to explore alcohol use differences in women of Mexican origin born in and outside of the U.S. In addition, the relationship between years in the U.S. and drinks per day was explored in Mexican immigrant women. The results indicated that Mexican immigrant women who drink are drinking above recommended levels and the younger immigrant women are drinking more drinks per day than young Mexican American women. These changes point to the importance of developing culturally sensitive interventions for this expanding segment of the population.