Patterns of alcohol consumption in the Kimberley Aboriginal population

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Abstract
To estimate patterns of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems among adult Aborigines in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. A community survey of adult Aborigines. A stratified random sample of 516 Aboriginal men and women over the age of 15 years in the Kimberley. Participants' reports of their frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption, and their lifetime experience of alcohol-related problems; and the laboratory measure gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase. Aborigines in the Kimberley were more likely to be non-drinkers than non-Aborigines in the Australian population, but the majority of drinkers consumed hazardous amounts of alcohol: 85% (95% Cl, 82% to 88%) of drinkers in the population were estimated to be drinking above the level defined by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) as harmful. Alcohol abuse among Aborigines in the Kimberley is a major public health problem which requires urgent action.