ABSTRACT
Traditionally, general population surveys have studied mainly three aspects of alcohol consumption. The estimates of the prevalence of alcohol problems based on general population surveys have had the advantage of being representative and thus giving some idea of the magnitude of alcohol problems in the survey areas. In contrast, little information is available about the associations between alcohol consumption and the occurrence of health problems, other than mortality, in general populations. Future epidemiological studies could benefit from the survey tradition in at least two ways. First, more complex and accurate methods of measuring alcohol intake could be adopted. Secondly, some surveys of alcohol consumption could be designed not only to provide the usual information on alcohol but also serve as starting points for longitudinal studies of morbidity and mortality.
