Drinking, Self-Reported Health and Strenuous Life-Style among Young People in Finland

Abstract

It has been widely debated whether the association between alcohol and health is linear or a U-shaped curve and whether having a daily drink is hazardous to one's health or not. The aim of this paper is to describe associations between drinking, self-reported health and strenuous life-style among young people in a cross-sectional setting. Are abstainers healthier than drinkers?

This study is a part of a larger research programme in progress, the Adolescent Health and Life-style Survey. The data came from questionnaires sent to a representative nationwide sample of 16–18-year-olds in 1987 (N=5002, response rate 80%). The young people were divided into four groups according to their drinking; ‘heavy drinkers’ (heavily drunk at least once a week); ‘frequent drinkers’ (drink at least once a week but get heavily drunk once or twice a month at the most); ‘moderate drinkers’ (drink less frequently); and ‘abstainers’ (do not use alcohol).

No association was observed between drinking and limiting long-standing illness. In terms of other health measures, the association between drinking and health was linear; the heavier the young people drank, the less likely they were to perceive their health as excellent or good, or to feel active in the morning. In addition, they felt tired during the daytime more often and also reported symptoms (headache, stomachache, sleeplessness etc.); they had had the flu more often, and were more likely to have visited a physician.

Key Words:

• Drinking
• health
• life-style
• youth
• Finland