Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 3, 2025

The Motivation for Alcohol Reward: Predictors of Progressive-Ratio Intravenous Alcohol Self-Administration in Humans
Published on: April 28, 2022
Prevalence and determinants of Alcohol use in a remote rural area in South India: A community-based cross-sectional
Sri Keerthana Gopikrishnan1, David Gregg Smith Ponraj1, Ariarathinam Newtonraj1
1Department of Community Medicine, Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences, Puducherry, India.
Introduction:
Alcohol use is a major public health problem in India. We sought to study the use of alcohol and its risk factors in a rural area in South India.
Methods:
This study was conducted in 20 villages surrounding a Rural Health Training Centre, located in South India. The study was done from March 2018 to October 2018 with the help of Medical Interns and Medical Social Workers using a pretested questionnaire.
Results:
In a total population of 14,925, 11,995 individuals are in the age group of 15 years and above, among whom 1,005 were reported to be using alcohol. The prevalence of alcohol among 15 years and above is 8.4% (7.9-8.9) and the overall prevalence in the total population is 7% (6.3-7.1). Prevalence of alcohol use among males and females are 16% and 1%, respectively. The alcohol use is higher among those who prefer open defecation (adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) 1.2 (1.0-1.4)), Kutcha house (aOR 1.7 (1.4-2.2)) or semi-pucca house (aOR 1.3 (1.121.6)), lower caste (Most Backward Castes (MBC) aOR 1.7 (1.2-2.2), Scheduled Castes (SC) aOR 2.1 (1.6-2.9)), male gender (aOR 41 (29-59)), Married 5.0 (3.7-6.8), or Separated 2.6 (1.5-4.4) and Diabetes 1.6 (1.1-2.3).
Conclusion:
Alcohol use in a remote rural area is high among socially deprived communities who live in kutcha and semi-pucca houses and belong to a lower caste. This needs serious public health interventions to improve their socioeconomic status.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Prevalence and Incidence
Prevalence indicates the proportion of individuals in a population who have a specific disease or health...
Substance Use Disorders Affecting Sleep
Understanding the concepts of physical dependence,...
Bias in Epidemiological Studies
Confounding in Epidemiological Studies
Determination of Expected Frequency
Hypothesis Test for Test of Independence
H0: The two variables (factors)...

