Binge drinking and occupation, North Dakota, 2004-2005.

Introduction: Binge drinking is a leading cause of preventable death and results in employee absenteeism and lost productivity. Knowledge about the prevalence of binge drinking among employees of different occupations is limited.

Methods: We assessed the prevalence of binge drinking (i.e., consuming five or more drinks per occasion during the previous 30 days) by primary occupation using data from the 2004-2005 North Dakota Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. We used logistic regression to assess the association between binge drinking and primary occupation.

Results: Overall, 24.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 22.5-25.7) of North Dakota workers reported binge drinking. The prevalence was highest among farm or ranch employees (45.3%; 95% CI, 28.3-63.4), food or drink servers (33.4%; 95% CI, 23.9-44.4), and farm or ranch owners (32.5%; 95% CI, 26.3-39.4). The prevalence was lowest among health care workers (13.2%; 95% CI, 10.3-16.8). Compared with health care workers, the adjusted odds of binge drinking were highest among farm or ranch employees (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 2.2; 95% CI, 0.9-5.5), food or drink servers (AOR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.1-4.0), and farm or ranch owners (AOR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.1-2.6). Health insurance coverage was lowest among employees in occupations with the highest prevalence of binge drinking.

Conclusion: We found occupational differences in the prevalence of binge drinking among employees in North Dakota. Many occupational categories had a high prevalence of binge drinking. We recommend the implementation of both employer-sponsored and population-based interventions to reduce binge drinking among North Dakota workers, particularly because employees in occupations with the highest rates of binge drinking had the lowest rates of health insurance coverage.