Sociodemographic characteristics associated with binge drinking among Brazilians
Daniel Sócrates Castroand, Zila M. Sanchez, Marcos Zaleski, Hamer Nastasy Palhares Alves, Ilana Pinsky, Raul Caetano, Ronaldo Ramos Laranjeira
Introduction
Alcohol consumption accounts for 4% of all deaths worldwide or 2.5 million deaths per year (World Health Organization, 2011). More than half of these deaths (Brewer and Swahn, 2005) are associated with “binge drinking” (BD). BD is defined as the consumption of five or more drinks of alcohol (i.e., a 5 ounce glass of wine at 12% alcohol, a 1.5 ounce of spirits 80 proof or a 12 ounce can of beer at approximately 4% alcohol) on one occasion for males and four or more drinks for females (NIAAA, 1994; Wechsler and Nelson, 2001).