Association between Bar Closing Time, Alcohol Use Disorders and Blood Alcohol Concentration: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study of Nightlife-Goers in Perth, Australia

William Gilmore, Martyn Symons, Wenbin Liang, Kathryn Graham, Kypros Kypri, Peter Miller and Tanya Chikritzhs
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William Gilmore: National Drug Research Institute and enAble Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6845, Australia
Martyn Symons: National Drug Research Institute and enAble Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6845, Australia
Wenbin Liang: School of Public Health, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350108, China
Kathryn Graham: Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON M5S 2S1, Canada
Kypros Kypri: School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
Peter Miller: Centre for Drug Use, Addictive and Anti-Social Behaviour Research, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia
Tanya Chikritzhs: National Drug Research Institute and enAble Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6845, Australia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 12, 1-16

Abstract: Introduction and aims: Associations between bar trading hours, a government lever for controlling alcohol availability, nightlife-goer intoxication levels and their likelihood of alcohol use disorder (AUD) have not been explored. We investigated whether: (i) participant AUD was associated with blood alcohol concentration (BAC); and, (ii) any association between AUD and BAC was moderated by participant preferred bar (i.e., venue spent most time at) closing time. Design and methods: A cross-sectional observational study using a sample of nightlife-goers who went out drinking in Perth, Western Australia, on weekends in 2015-16. Participants who reported alcohol use that night and spent most time in a bar (n = 667) completed street intercept surveys including AUDIT-C (n = 459) and provided a breath sample to estimate BAC (n = 651). We used gender-specific multinomial logistic regression models to explore associations between participant AUDIT-C score (1–4, lower risk; 5–7, hazardous; 8–12, active AUD), preferred bar type (standard vs. late closing time based on absence or presence of an extended trading permit) and BAC (male: 0–0.049, 0.05–0.099, ≥0.1 g/100 mL; female: 0–0.049, 0.05–0.079, ≥0.08 g/100 mL). Results: Males with active AUD (RR = 3.31; 95% CI 1.30–8.42; p = 0.01) and females with hazardous/active AUD (RR = 9.75; 95% CI 2.78–34.21; p < 0.001) were both more likely to have high-range BAC than their counterparts typically drinking at lower risk. We also found preferred bar type moderated the association between AUDIT-C score and BAC for some males but no females. Males with active AUD and high-range BAC were less likely to prefer late closing bars than males usually drinking at lower risk and high-range BAC (RR = 0.12; 95% CI 0.02–0.96; p = 0.046). Discussion and conclusions: Our study provides evidence of positive associations between AUD and acute intoxication among nightlife-goers and on the moderating effect of bar closing times among males.

Keywords: nightlife-goers; bars; on-trade licensed outlets; alcohol use disorders; AUDIT-C; blood alcohol concentration; BAC; trading hours; closing times; alcohol policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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