Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government
Veterans Benefits and Health Care About VA Find a VA Location

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR&D Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Variability in veterans'' alcohol use by place of residence.

Vander Weg MW, Cai X. Variability in veterans' alcohol use by place of residence. The American journal on addictions. 2012 Jan 1; 21(1):31-7.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.    Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions


Abstract:

Rates of risky alcohol use appear to be elevated among active duty and veteran military personnel. Little is known, however, about characteristics associated with alcohol misuse in these groups. Furthermore, although there is evidence to suggest that patterns of alcohol use differ according to place of residence, no prior studies have investigated variability in alcohol use according to level of rurality and geographic region in US military veterans. The present study evaluated variations in alcohol use (ie, past 30-day use, heavy use, and binge drinking) and drinking and driving according to place of residence among 55,452 US military veterans participating in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Veterans residing in rural areas were significantly less likely than those from suburban and urban areas to have consumed alcohol in the past 30 days (p < .001). Conversely, rural-dwelling veterans who did drink alcohol had higher odds of binge drinking (p < .005) and (relative to urban residents) drinking and driving (p = .013). Veterans residing in the South were significantly less likely than those from other geographic regions to report past 30-day alcohol use (p < .001). In addition, veterans living in the Midwest were significantly more likely than those from the South to report drinking and driving (p = .017). No differences in heavy alcohol use were observed based on location of residence.




Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.