Heavy Drinking by Occupation in Spain: Differences Between Weekdays and the Weekend.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Occupational Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Estimating occupational heavy average drinking (HAD) risk by combining weekday and weekend data may obscure distinct causal factors.
• Understanding sex-specific occupational disparities in drinking patterns is crucial for targeted public health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess occupational disparities in heavy average drinking (HAD) by differentiating between weekdays and weekends, and by sex.
• To identify specific occupations with elevated HAD risk during different periods of the week.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of national survey data from 42,108 Spanish employees (aged 16-64) between 2011-2020.
• Heavy average drinking (HAD) defined as >20g/day (men) or >10g/day (women).
• Poisson regression models were used to estimate prevalence ratios (aPRs) and adjusted excess prevalences (aEPs) by occupation, sex, and week period, controlling for covariates.

Main Results:

• Weekday HAD-aPRs were highest in construction, hospitality, and primary-sector workers (1.92-1.62).
• Weekend-weekday HAD-aEPs were highest in technicians/administrators, other professionals, teachers, and health professionals (8.33-6.44).
• The relative weekend increase in HAD risk was significantly higher in women than men, particularly in high-skilled occupations.

Conclusions:

• Significant occupational disparities in weekday HAD exist, with higher risks in lower-skilled jobs.
• A notable relative increase in HAD risk occurs on weekends, especially in high-skilled occupations and among women.
• Prevention strategies for harmful drinking should consider these distinct occupational and sex-specific patterns across the week.