Alcohol use patterns and dependence risk among individuals charged with drink driving
1
Pharmacy Practice, DPGU School of Pharmacy and Research, Pimpri, Pune, India
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A3358
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
drink and drive (dd) offenses constitute a major public health and road safety challenge in india. while breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) testing is routinely used to detect acute intoxication, it does not capture underlying hazardous drinking behaviors or alcohol dependence among legally prosecuted offenders. evidence on long-term alcohol use patterns in this high-risk population remains limited. this study aimed to assess hazardous drinking and alcohol dependence risk among dd offenders using the alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT) in a judicial setting.
METHODS:
this prospective observational study included 57 male dd offenders attending judicial proceedings in pune india. the mean age of participants was 31.86 ± 8.22 years. data were collected through face-to-face interviews using the AUDIT questionnaire, along with objective BrAC values obtained from police records. descriptive statistics were performed, and associations were examined using chi-square tests and spearman’s rank correlation analysis.
RESULTS:
the mean BrAC level was 241.53 ± 197.75 mg/dl. alcohol-related harm was highly prevalent, with 82.46% of participants reporting that they or someone else had been injured due to their drinking, and 61.40% indicating concern expressed by family friends or health professionals. higher BrAC levels were significantly associated with increased drinking frequency (p = 0.0018), binge drinking (p = 0.0071), impaired control over drinking (p = 0.0166), and the need for morning drinking (p = 0.0001). a significant negative correlation was observed between age and total AUDIT score (rs = -0.316 p = 0.017), indicating riskier drinking patterns among younger offenders.
CONCLUSIONS:
a substantial proportion of dd offenders exhibit patterns consistent with hazardous drinking and potential alcohol dependence, strongly associated with objective intoxication levels. these findings support a shift toward a public health-oriented judicial response, recommending mandatory AUDIT screening to identify high-risk offenders and enable referral to targeted judicially monitored rehabilitation programs.
drink and drive (dd) offenses constitute a major public health and road safety challenge in india. while breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) testing is routinely used to detect acute intoxication, it does not capture underlying hazardous drinking behaviors or alcohol dependence among legally prosecuted offenders. evidence on long-term alcohol use patterns in this high-risk population remains limited. this study aimed to assess hazardous drinking and alcohol dependence risk among dd offenders using the alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT) in a judicial setting.
METHODS:
this prospective observational study included 57 male dd offenders attending judicial proceedings in pune india. the mean age of participants was 31.86 ± 8.22 years. data were collected through face-to-face interviews using the AUDIT questionnaire, along with objective BrAC values obtained from police records. descriptive statistics were performed, and associations were examined using chi-square tests and spearman’s rank correlation analysis.
RESULTS:
the mean BrAC level was 241.53 ± 197.75 mg/dl. alcohol-related harm was highly prevalent, with 82.46% of participants reporting that they or someone else had been injured due to their drinking, and 61.40% indicating concern expressed by family friends or health professionals. higher BrAC levels were significantly associated with increased drinking frequency (p = 0.0018), binge drinking (p = 0.0071), impaired control over drinking (p = 0.0166), and the need for morning drinking (p = 0.0001). a significant negative correlation was observed between age and total AUDIT score (rs = -0.316 p = 0.017), indicating riskier drinking patterns among younger offenders.
CONCLUSIONS:
a substantial proportion of dd offenders exhibit patterns consistent with hazardous drinking and potential alcohol dependence, strongly associated with objective intoxication levels. these findings support a shift toward a public health-oriented judicial response, recommending mandatory AUDIT screening to identify high-risk offenders and enable referral to targeted judicially monitored rehabilitation programs.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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