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. 2021 Sep;41(9):267-271.
doi: 10.24095/hpcdp.40.9.04.

Prevalence of alcohol use among women of reproductive age in Canada

[Article in English, French]
Mélanie Varin  1 , Elia Palladino  1   2 , Kate Hill MacEachern  1 , Lisa Belzak  1 , Melissa M Baker  1
Affiliations

Prevalence of alcohol use among women of reproductive age in Canada

[Article in English, French]
Mélanie Varin et al. Health Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can. 2021 Sep.

Abstract
in English, French

Introduction: Reporting on alcohol use among women of reproductive age in Canada addresses a major gap in evidence.

Methods: We assessed the prevalence of weekly and heavy alcohol consumption among women aged 15 to 54 years by sociodemographic characteristics, province of residence and concurrent use of other substance(s) using data from the 2019 Canadian Community Health Survey.

Results: Of the target population, 30.5% reported weekly and 18.3% reported heavy alcohol consumption in the past year. Prevalence varied by sociodemographic characteristics, province and substance use. The most notable and significant differences were to do with cannabis use and smoking.

Conclusion: This information can guide health care providers in assessing alcohol consumption and in promoting low-risk alcohol drinking to prevent alcohol exposure during pregnancy.

Introduction: La publication de données sur la consommation d’alcool chez les Canadiennes en âge de procréer comble une lacune importante en matière de données probantes.

Méthodologie: Nous avons analysé, à l’aide des données de l’Enquête sur la santé dans les collectivités canadiennes de 2019, les taux de consommation hebdomadaire et de consommation excessive d’alcool chez les femmes de 15 à 54 ans en fonction de caractéristiques sociodémographiques, de la province de résidence et de la consommation simultanée d’autres substances.

Résultats: Parmi la population cible, 30,5 % des femmes interrogées ont fait état d’une consommation hebdomadaire d’alcool et 18,3 % d’une consommation excessive d’alcool au cours des 12 derniers mois. Les proportions variaient en fonction des caractéristiques sociodémographiques, de la province et de la consommation de substances. Les différences les plus notables et les plus significatives étaient liées à la consommation de cannabis et au tabagisme.

Conclusion: Ces renseignements peuvent aider les prestataires de soins de santé à évaluer la consommation d’alcool et à promouvoir une consommation d’alcool à faible risque afin de prévenir l’exposition à l’alcool durant la grossesse.

Keywords: Canada's Low Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines; polysubstance use; substance use; women of reproductive age.

Plain language summary

In 2019, 30.5% of women of reproductive age reported weekly alcohol consumption. In 2019, 18.3% of women of reproductive age reported heavy alcohol consumption that exceeds Canada’s Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines. These proportions varied by sociodemographic characteristics, province of residence, smoking status and cannabis use. Prevalence estimates for weekly and heavy alcohol consumption were between 2 and 3 times higher for women who reported being current, former or experimental tobacco smokers or who had reported consuming cannabis in the past year.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

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