PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Karl Gauffin
AU  - Tomas Hemmingsson
AU  - Anders Hjern
TI  - The effect of childhood socioeconomic position on alcohol-related disorders later in life: a Swedish national cohort study
AID  - 10.1136/jech-2013-202624
DP  - 2013 Nov 01
TA  - Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
PG  - 932--938
VI  - 67
IP  - 11
4099  - http://jech.bmj.com/content/67/11/932.short
4100  - http://jech.bmj.com/content/67/11/932.full
SO  - J Epidemiol Community Health2013 Nov 01; 67
AB  - Background Alcohol use is the third most important global-health risk factor and a main contributor to health inequalities. Previous research on social determinants of alcohol-related disorders has delivered inconsistent results. We aimed to investigate whether socioeconomic position (SEP) in childhood predicts alcohol-related disorders in young adulthood in a Swedish national cohort. Methods We studied a register-based national cohort of Swedish citizens born during 1973–1984 (N=948 518) and followed them up to 2009 from age 15. Childhood SEP was defined by a six-category socioeconomic index from the Censuses of 1985 and 1990. HRs of alcohol-related disorders, as indicated by register entries on alcohol-related death and alcohol-related medical care, were analysed in Cox regression models with adjustment for sociodemographic variables and indicators of parental morbidity and criminality. Results Low childhood SEP was associated with alcohol-related disorders later in life among both men and women in a stepwise manner. Growing up in a household with the lowest SEP was associated with risk for alcohol-related disorders of HR: 2.24 (95% CI 2.08 to 2.42) after adjustment for sociodemographic variables, compared with the highest SEP group. Adjusting the analysis for parental psychosocial problems attenuated the association to HR 1.87 (95% CI 1.73 to 2.01). Conclusions The study demonstrates that low SEP in childhood predicts alcohol-related disorders in young adulthood. Alcohol abuse needs to be addressed in policies to bridge the gap of health inequalities.