Association Between Socioeconomic and Demographic Characteristics and Non-fatal Alcohol-Related Injury in Maringá, Brazil

• Main Authors: Deena El-Gabri (Author), Nicole Toomey (Author), Nelly Moraes Gil (Author), Aline Chotte de Oliveira (Author), Paulo Rafael Sanches Calvo (Author), Yolande Pokam Tchuisseu (Author), Sarah Williams (Author), Luciano Andrade (Author), Joao Ricardo Nickenig Vissoci (Author), Catherine Staton (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A., 2020-03-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 2296-2565; 10.3389/fpubh.2020.00066
• Keywords: injury; socioeconomic; demographic; alcohol; Brazil; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270
• Source: Frontiers in Public Health, Vol 8 (2020)

Background: Previous research has corroborated a high burden of alcohol-related injury in Brazil and the presence of socioeconomic disparities among the injured. Yet, individual-level data is scarce. To fill this gap, we examined the association between demographic and socioeconomic characteristics with non-fatal alcohol-related injury in Maringá, Brazil.Methods: We used household survey data collected during a 2015 cross-sectional study. We conducted univariate and multivariate analyses to evaluate associations of demographic (age, gender, race) and socioeconomic characteristics (employment, education, income) with non-fatal alcohol-related injury.Results: Of the 995 participants who reported injuries, 62 (6.26%) were alcohol-related. Fifty-three (85%) alcohol-related injuries were reported by males. Multivariate analysis indicated being male (OR = 5.98 95% CI = 3.02, 13.28), 15-29 years of age (OR = 3.62 95% CI = 1.72, 7.71), and identifying as Black (OR = 2.38 95% CI = 1.09, 4.95) were all significantly associated with increased likelihood of reporting an alcohol-related injury, whereas unemployment was significantly associated with decreased likelihood of reporting an alcohol-related injury (OR = 0.41 95% CI = 0.18, 0.88).Conclusion: Our findings suggest that in Maringá, being male, between the ages of 15 and 29, employed, or identifying as Black were characteristics associated with a higher risk for non-fatal alcohol-related injury. Individual level data, such as ours, should be considered in combination with area-level and country-level data when developing evidence-based public-health policies.