Sociodemographic characteristics associated with binge drinking among Brazilians
Daniel Sócrates Castroa, Zila M. Sanchez, Marcos Zaleski, Hamer Nastasy Palhares Alves, Ilana Pinsky, Raul Caetano, Ronaldo Laranjeira
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 asso- ciated 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).