Who under-reports their alcohol consumption in telephone surveys and by how much? An application of the 'yesterday method' in a national Canadian substance use survey
Background and Aims: Adjustments for under-reporting in alcohol surveys have been used in epidemiological and policy studies which assume that all drinkers underestimate their consumption equally. This study aims to describe a method of estimating how under-reporting of alcohol consumption might var...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
2014
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/24508 |
| _version_ | 1848751450201522176 |
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| author | Stockwell, Tim Zhao, J. Macdonald, S. |
| author_facet | Stockwell, Tim Zhao, J. Macdonald, S. |
| author_sort | Stockwell, Tim |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Background and Aims: Adjustments for under-reporting in alcohol surveys have been used in epidemiological and policy studies which assume that all drinkers underestimate their consumption equally. This study aims to describe a method of estimating how under-reporting of alcohol consumption might vary by age, gender and consumption level. Method: The Canadian Alcohol and Drug Use Monitoring Survey (CADUMS) 2008–10 (n = 43 371) asks about beverage-specific ‘yesterday’ consumption (BSY) and quantity–frequency (QF). Observed drinking frequencies for different age and gender groups were calculated from BSY and used to correct values of F in QF. Beverage-specific correction factors for quantity (Q) were calculated by comparing consumption estimated from BSY with sales data. Results: Drinking frequency was underestimated by males (Z = 24.62, P < 0.001) and females (Z = 17.46, P < 0.001) in the QF as assessed by comparing with frequency and quantity of yesterday drinking. Spirits consumption was underestimated by 65.94% compared with sales data, wine by 38.35% and beer by 49.02%. After adjusting Q and F values accordingly, regression analysis found alcohol consumption to be underestimated significantly more by younger drinkers (e.g. 82.9 ± 1.19% for underage drinkers versus 70.38 ± 1.54% for those 65+, P < 0.001) and by low-risk more than high-risk drinkers (76.25 ± 0.34% versus 49.22 ± 3.01%, P < 0.001). Under-reporting did not differ by gender. Conclusions: Alcohol consumption surveys can use the beverage-specific ‘yesterday method’ to correct for under-reporting of consumption among subgroups. Alcohol consumption among Canadians appears to be under-reported to an equal degree by men and women. Younger drinkers under-report alcohol consumption to a greater degree than do older drinkers, while low-risk drinkers underestimate more than do medium and high-risk drinkers. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:52:55Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-24508 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:52:55Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-245082017-09-13T15:10:07Z Who under-reports their alcohol consumption in telephone surveys and by how much? An application of the 'yesterday method' in a national Canadian substance use survey Stockwell, Tim Zhao, J. Macdonald, S. Background and Aims: Adjustments for under-reporting in alcohol surveys have been used in epidemiological and policy studies which assume that all drinkers underestimate their consumption equally. This study aims to describe a method of estimating how under-reporting of alcohol consumption might vary by age, gender and consumption level. Method: The Canadian Alcohol and Drug Use Monitoring Survey (CADUMS) 2008–10 (n = 43 371) asks about beverage-specific ‘yesterday’ consumption (BSY) and quantity–frequency (QF). Observed drinking frequencies for different age and gender groups were calculated from BSY and used to correct values of F in QF. Beverage-specific correction factors for quantity (Q) were calculated by comparing consumption estimated from BSY with sales data. Results: Drinking frequency was underestimated by males (Z = 24.62, P < 0.001) and females (Z = 17.46, P < 0.001) in the QF as assessed by comparing with frequency and quantity of yesterday drinking. Spirits consumption was underestimated by 65.94% compared with sales data, wine by 38.35% and beer by 49.02%. After adjusting Q and F values accordingly, regression analysis found alcohol consumption to be underestimated significantly more by younger drinkers (e.g. 82.9 ± 1.19% for underage drinkers versus 70.38 ± 1.54% for those 65+, P < 0.001) and by low-risk more than high-risk drinkers (76.25 ± 0.34% versus 49.22 ± 3.01%, P < 0.001). Under-reporting did not differ by gender. Conclusions: Alcohol consumption surveys can use the beverage-specific ‘yesterday method’ to correct for under-reporting of consumption among subgroups. Alcohol consumption among Canadians appears to be under-reported to an equal degree by men and women. Younger drinkers under-report alcohol consumption to a greater degree than do older drinkers, while low-risk drinkers underestimate more than do medium and high-risk drinkers. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/24508 10.1111/add.12609 restricted |
| spellingShingle | Stockwell, Tim Zhao, J. Macdonald, S. Who under-reports their alcohol consumption in telephone surveys and by how much? An application of the 'yesterday method' in a national Canadian substance use survey |
| title | Who under-reports their alcohol consumption in telephone surveys and by how much? An application of the 'yesterday method' in a national Canadian substance use survey |
| title_full | Who under-reports their alcohol consumption in telephone surveys and by how much? An application of the 'yesterday method' in a national Canadian substance use survey |
| title_fullStr | Who under-reports their alcohol consumption in telephone surveys and by how much? An application of the 'yesterday method' in a national Canadian substance use survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | Who under-reports their alcohol consumption in telephone surveys and by how much? An application of the 'yesterday method' in a national Canadian substance use survey |
| title_short | Who under-reports their alcohol consumption in telephone surveys and by how much? An application of the 'yesterday method' in a national Canadian substance use survey |
| title_sort | who under-reports their alcohol consumption in telephone surveys and by how much? an application of the 'yesterday method' in a national canadian substance use survey |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/24508 |