Abstract

Background: Globally, harmful use of alcohol results in approximately 2.5 million deaths each year. Almost 4% of all deaths worldwide are attributed to alcohol. Prevalence of alcohol consumption is on a continuous rise in India.,Objectives: To measure the prevalence and determinants of alcohol consumption among adult men in a coastal area of,Pondicherry.,Material and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out at Kalapet, a coastal area in Pondicherry that comes under the field practice area of Department of Community Medicine, Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences. Study population consisted of 500 men aged 18 and above. A systematic random sampling was used for sample selection. The study was conducted during January 2013 to December 2013. Data were collected by house-to-house survey using a predesigned questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS, version 16.0. Simple proportions were calculated and χ2-test was applied for statistical significance. A p-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant.,
Results: The prevalence of alcohol consumption was found to be 59.6%. Factors such as lower literacy level, having family history of alcohol consumption, and cigarette smoking were found to be positively associated with alcohol consumption.,Conclusion: The prevalence of alcohol consumption was found very high in Pondicherry compared to national levels.