Cross-Sectional Associations Between Heavy Alcohol Use and Domains of Physical Activity Among Adults in Their 30s

Background. There is some evidence to suggest that higher levels of physical activity may be associated with decreased risk for alcohol and other substance use disorders and may also be an effective mechanism for intervention. However, little is known about whether certain types of physical activity (e.g., leisure, transportation-related, work) may be more or less associated with drinking. This study examined whether different domains of physical activity are associated with concurrent levels of drinking among adults in their mid-30s.

 Method. Data for this cross-sectional study are from 558 adults participating in the age 35 survey of the Seattle Social Development Project (SSDP). Physical activity was assessed using the self-report International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). The IPAQ measures time spent in total moderate and vigorous physical activity as well as in specific categories of work, transportation, domestic and garden, and leisure. Heavy alcohol use was defined as drinking 4+ drinks during a typical occasion. Because the outcome was somewhat common (>10%), modified Poisson regression with robust standard errors was used rather than traditional logistic regression to estimate prevalence ratios (PRs) for heavy drinking according to quartiles of physical activity. Models were adjusted for demographic characteristics including gender, household income, marital status, educational attainment, and race/ethnicity.

 Results and Conclusions. When comparing quartiles of physical activity, there were no differences in likelihood of heavy drinking.  Examining specific domains, there were also no statistically significant differences in heavy use according to work-related, domestic-garden, and transportation-related physical activity. However, we did observe differences in prevalence of heavy drinking by leisure-time physical activity. Those in the highest quartile of leisure-time physical activity were about 50% less likely to engage in heavy use as those in the lowest quartile of leisure-time activity (PR = .49; 95% CI: .29, .80; p = .005). The trend across the quartiles was statistically significant (p = .014). These findings suggest that leisure-time physical activity, but not total or other specific types, was associated with decreased likelihood of heavy alcohol use. As findings are replicated with subsequent waves of data using longitudinal designs and objective measures, this may inform individual- and environmental-level preventive interventions that specifically promote leisure-time physical activity.