© 2015 the Nordic Societies of Public Health DOI: 10.1177/1403494815576268 Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 1–4 Introduction Per capita alcohol consumption in Sweden increased by approximately 13% between 2001 and 2013 from 8.8 to 9.9 litres of pure alcohol [1], and by 4% between 2009 and 2013. These consumption trends are based on sales data and estimates of unrecorded alcohol con- sumption from surveys. One limitation of these data is that they cannot identify the characteristics of certain risk groups. However, this is important from a preven- tion perspective and for public health. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) [2] is a self-report questionnaire designed to assess problem- atic drinking habits. When used at the population level, it enables problem drinking in specific age and sex groups to be estimated. In Sweden, the AUDIT has been used to screen problematic drinking in the adult population on five occasions during the harmonisation process with the EU, between 1997 and 2009 [3]. The results highlighted two important changes. First, the initial increase in alcohol availability was associated with a significant increase in consumption among middle- aged women in particular (commencing from a low level), but not among men [4]. This convergence between male and female consumption habits has been referred to as ‘the convergence effect’ [5], and postulates that increased alcohol consumption has followed increased social equality among women. Second, Källmén et al. [3] showed that there was a significant decrease in alcohol consumption between 2005 and 2009 among both men and women aged 17–27 years, a finding supported by other studies [6]. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the consumption trends shown in previous AUDIT stud- ies have continued through to 2014, and if other groups have changed their consumption significantly. Another aim was to evaluate whether the stability in Changes in alcohol consumption between 2009 and 2014 assessed with the AUDIT HÅKAN KÄLLMÉN 1 , P. WENNBERG 2 , M. RAMSTEDT 3 & M. HALLGREN 4 1 STAD, Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, 2 Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Social Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden and Centre for Social Research on Alcohol and Drugs, Stockholm University, Sweden, 3 The Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs (CAN), Sweden, and 4 Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Epidemiology and Public Health Intervention Research (EPHIR), Karolinska Institutet, Sweden Abstract Background: Alcohol habits in Sweden, assessed as sales and estimates of unrecorded consumption, have changed since joining the EU. Earlier studies using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) showed that reported consumption is consistent with sales data, which makes it possible to assess consumption according to sex and age. Aims: This study reports the changes in alcohol habits between 2009 and 2014, a period starting a couple of years after Sweden joined the EU. Method: The AUDIT was sent to a random sample of the Swedish population aged between 17 and 80 years old. Results: No statistically significant changes were shown in six age and sex groups. Conclusions: Alcohol habits have stabilised in Sweden but on a higher consumption level than before. Key Words: Alcohol consumption, Alcohol Use Disorders Identiication Test, Swedish population Correspondence: Håkan Källmén, STAD, Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Norra stationsgatan 69, Stockholm, 11364, Sweden. E-mail: hakan.kallmen@sll.se (Accepted 13 February 2015) 576268SJP 0 0 10.1177/1403494815576268H. Källmén et al.Changes in alcohol consumption between 2009 and 2014 assessed with the AUDIT research-article 2015 SHORT COMMUNICATION at Karolinska Institutets Universitetsbibliotek on March 10, 2015 sjp.sagepub.com Downloaded from