• Maria Leticia R Ikeda, Nemora T Barcellos, Paulo R Alencastro, Fernando H Wolff, Leila B Moreira, Miguel Gus, Ajacio B M Brandão, Flavio D Fuchs, and Sandra C Fuchs.
• Postgraduate Studies Program in Cardiology, School of Medicine, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, R. Ramiro Barcelos 2600, 2°. andar, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
• Plos One. 2016 Jan 1; 11 (6): e0158535.

BackgroundAlcohol consumption is highly prevalent in the general population and among HIV-infected population. This study aimed to compare the pattern of alcohol consumption and to describe characteristics associated with heavy alcohol consumption in individuals from the general population with patients infected with HIV.MethodsParticipants for this analysis came from a population-based cross-sectional study and from a consecutive sampling of patients infected with HIV. Participants aged 18 years or older were interviewed using similar questionnaires with questions pertaining to socio-demographic characteristics, alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity, and HIV-related characteristics, among others. Blood pressure and anthropometric measures were measured using standardized procedures.ResultsWeekly alcohol consumption was more prevalent among individuals from the general population than HIV-infected patients: 57.0 vs. 31.1%, P<0.001. The prevalence of heavy episodic drinking was higher in the population sample as well: 46.1 vs. 17.0%, P<0.001. In the general population, heavy alcohol consumption was more prevalent in men. Cigarette smoking was independently associated with heavy alcohol consumption among HIV infected (Prevalence Ratio; PR = 5.9; 95%CI 2.6-13.9; P<0,001) and general population (PR = 2.6; 95%CI 1.9-3.0; P<0.001). Years at school were inversely associated with heavy alcohol consumption among HIV-infected patients and directly associated among participants from the general population, even after controlling for sex, age, skin color, and smoking.ConclusionsHeavy alcohol consumption is more prevalent in the general population than among HIV-infected patients. Individuals aware about their disease may reduce the amount of alcoholic beverages consumption comparatively to healthy individuals from the general population.

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