Evaluations of potential sex differences in alcohol use and problems in 454 offspring from the San Diego Prospective Study

Background

Some studies have reported that the course of alcohol problems, including alcohol use disorder (AUD), differs across males and females. In contrast, 30 years ago, we reported that the course of these conditions was quite similar across the sexes in participants in a large collaborative study. This paper reevaluates potential sex differences in alcohol problems using offspring from the recent San Diego Prospective Study (SDPS).

Methods

Standardized clinical interviews and validated questionnaires were used to evaluate 230 male and 224 female SDPS drinking offspring (median age 26), including 140 males and 96 females with AUD. ANOVA, correlations, regression analyses, and structural equation models were used to evaluate three hypotheses regarding potential sex differences in the course of alcohol use and problems.

Results

Despite changes over recent decades in alcohol use and problems in US populations, especially in females, and differences in demographic characteristics between our current study and our published work in the mid-1990s, the course of alcohol use and of AUDs had many similarities across the sexes. For offspring with AUD, males and females were similar regarding the number of the 11 AUD criteria endorsed, and the proportions reporting experience with nine of the 11 criteria, as well as with their drinking frequencies. After adjustment for probable blood alcohol concentrations per drink, males and females had similar alcohol quantities and levels of response (LRs) to alcohol. In both correlational analyses and structural equation models, the two sexes demonstrated similar relationships of LR to drinking quantities, frequencies, personality characteristics, and alcohol problems.

Conclusions

The data revealed many similarities across the sexes for a wide range of characteristics regarding the course of alcohol-related problems. However, the study population was too young for evaluations of potential differences in patterns of alcohol-related health problems.