258866 Ethnic vs. Racial Determinants of Alcohol-Related Problems: Disparities at the Intersection?

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Dionne Godette, PhD , Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD
Chandra L. Ford, PhD, MPH, MLIS , Department of Community Health Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Sharon M. Smith, PhD , Laboratory of Epidemiology and Biometry, Division of Intramural Clinical and Biological Research, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
Disparities in alcohol-related problems are well-documented, but it is unclear whether they reflect ethnic factors, racial factors, or their intersection. Ethnicity and race are distinct concepts that may differentially influence health outcomes. This study disentangles ethnic influences on alcohol-related problems among blacks and whites, from racial ones by examining relationships between: 1) Hispanic ethnicity and alcohol-related problems; 2) age at immigration and alcohol-related problems among Hispanic immigrants; and 3) years in the US and alcohol-related problems among Hispanic immigrants.

This cross-sectional study used 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) data, based on a nationally representative sample of non-institutionalized adults. Multiple logistic regression analyses were restricted to black (N=4,075) and white (N=20,711) respondents. Although an adjusted model with a two-way race by ethnicity interaction term only approached significance (p-value=0.06), race-stratified models suggest possible differences in alcohol-related problems among Hispanics by race. Adjusted models show that among whites, Hispanics were less likely than non-Hispanics to experience alcohol-related problems (OR=0.64, CI 0.55-0.75). Among blacks, this relationship was not significant. Also among whites, a significant relationship existed between age of immigration and alcohol-related problems (OR 2.01, 95% CI=1.05-3.84). Adjusted models for both groups revealed no significant relationships between years in the US and alcohol-related problems. Findings suggest that ethnic factors may contribute to alcohol-related problems in ways that vary by race, and that critical periods may influence the development of alcohol-related problems.

Learning Areas:
Diversity and culture
Epidemiology
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
• Evaluate the independent associations that race and Hispanic ethnicity have to alcohol-related problems among adults in the U.S. • Discuss potential mechanisms for the intersection of ethnicity and race to influence alcohol-related problems.

Keywords: Alcohol Problems, Hispanic

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have several years of experience conductiong research on the epidemiology, prevention and treatment of alcohol and other drug abuse and co-occuring HIV. My research has focused primarily on adolescents, young adults, ethnic minorities, and racial minorities in the United States.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4255.0: Race, Ethnicity and Special Populations: Epidemiology and Interventions