Pre-deployment Alcohol Misuse Among Shipboard Active-Duty U.S. Military Personnel

Introduction The burden of alcohol misuse is unknown among shipboard U.S. Navy and Marine Corps military personnel immediately prior to deployment and may be elevated. Methods Anonymous survey data on hazardous, dependent, and binge alcohol misuse and involuntary drug consumption were collected duri...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of preventive medicine 2016-08, Vol.51 (2), p.185-194
Main Authors: Harbertson, Judith, PhD, MPH, Hale, Braden R., MD, MPH, Watkins, Eren Y., PhD, MPH, Michael, Nelson L., MD, PhD, Scott, Paul T., MD, MPH
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alcohol Drinking - epidemiology
Alcohol-Related Disorders - epidemiology
Binge Drinking - epidemiology
Female
Humans
Internal Medicine
Male
Military Personnel - psychology
Military Personnel - statistics & numerical data
Prevalence
Self Report
Surveys and Questionnaires
United States - epidemiology
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Summary:Introduction The burden of alcohol misuse is unknown among shipboard U.S. Navy and Marine Corps military personnel immediately prior to deployment and may be elevated. Methods Anonymous survey data on hazardous, dependent, and binge alcohol misuse and involuntary drug consumption were collected during 2012–2014 among shipboard personnel within approximately 2 weeks of deployment. Using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test Consumption (AUDIT-C), hazardous alcohol misuse was defined using two cut-point scoring criteria: (1) ≥3 for women and ≥4 for men; and (2) ≥4 for women and ≥5 for men; binge drinking as ≥4 drinks for women and ≥5 drinks for men on a typical day in past 30 days; and dependent alcohol misuse as an AUDIT-C score of ≥8. Demographic- and sex-stratified self-reported alcohol misuse prevalence was reported for analysis conducted during 2014–2015. Results Among 2,351 male and female shipboard personnel, 39%–54% screened positive for hazardous, 27% for binge, and 15% for dependent alcohol use. Seven percent reported involuntary drug consumption history. A larger proportion of those aged 17–20 years screened positive for dependent alcohol use compared with the overall study population prevalence. Conclusions A large proportion of shipboard personnel screened positive for hazardous and dependent alcohol use (18% among those aged
ISSN:0749-3797
1873-2607
DOI:10.1016/j.amepre.2016.02.029