Describing alcohol consumption. A comparison of three methods and a new approach.

Abstract

Three measures of drinking behavior (the Quantity-Frequency-Variability (Q-F-V) index, the Volume Variability (VV) index and the Absolute Alcohol (AA) score) were applied to the same data. They revealed different dimensions of drinking. Thus, AA scores described aggregate volume most accurately, but gave no indication of spacing of intake. The Q-F-V described pattern of consumption, but did not accuraely indicate volume. The VV compressed data into limited categories; original data were lost and the description of pattern was restricted. A new method, the Absolute Alcohol-Quantity-Pattern (AA-Q-P) index is described and compared with other systems. It combines an AA score, measuring aggregate volume, with a QP index which yields a value on an ordered 4 point scale indicating frequency of drinking 5 or more drinks on a single occasion. Comparison with the other methods indicates that the AA-Q-P preserves the original information to a greater extent than the Q-F-V and VV methods and thus is more easily interpreted. Also the Q-P value expresses the average frequency of massed drinking with greater precision than the other measures. The AA-Q-P index could be useful when volume varies. There is no way to sum massed drinking across beverages and there is an upper limit on the AA score continuum, so the AA-Q-P index is viewed as a step toward better measurement of alcohol consumption, not a final answer.