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Press cutting: Educated women 'more likely to binge-drink'

18 January 2007

Highly-educated women are substantially more likely to drink excessively in their 20s than those without qualifications, according to a study to be published today.

The researchers, whose study is published in the 'Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health', believe that as women with fewer qualifications are more likely to have babies in their early 20s they are more likely to stop drinking to excess at that age. …

Barbara Jefferis, from the Centre for Pediatric Epidemiology & Biostatistics at the UCL Institute of Child Health in London, studied the habits of 11,500 British men and women, all born during one week in March 1958. …

Binge-drinking was classified as 10 or more units of alcohol on one occasion for men, and seven or more for women. …

Ms Jefferis said: "Our study shows that binge-drinking remains high throughout adult life. It is not just adolescents and those in their 20s.

"Among adults in their 40s we found one in three men and one in seven women were binge-drinking.

"This suggests policies targeting binge-drinking need to target older adults as well as those in their 20s. Positive initiatives need to take account of the whole population."

Nic Fleming, 'The Daily Telegraph'