Investigation into the use of alcohol at thermal spas: can a spa represent a place for primary prevention?

Primary prevention is one of the most effective means used nowadays to make the general population aware of most of the problems connected with health, but information campaigns have not yet shown results of alcohol- related problems at thermal spas. The aim of this study was to assess the mean daily alcohol intake (grams/day) in a thermal spa population. The sample was conducted over a 6 month period and consisted of 290 subjects. The mean age was 59.01 years (range 23-89, SD ± 14.20) (150 males and 140 females). All of the subjects underwent a medical examination free of charge and an alcohol case history report. The medical staff working at the spa included two doctors, a biologist, a cardiologist, and a dietician. In the final 176 subjects studied, the mean daily alcohol intake was 32.33 g/day, significantly higher in the males than the females (p < 0.001). The 176 subjects were subsequently divided into three subgroups according to their daily alcohol intake: group A, <40 g/day; group B, 40 to 79 g/day; group C, ≤ 80 g/day. The number of subjects in group A was significantly greater than in group B and group C (p < 0.001). It is important to emphasize that 33.5% of the subjects studied presented a mean daily alcohol intake of ≤ 40 g/day and therefore were more exposed to the risk of the onset of alcohol-related problems. In view of these results, thermal spas should thus be considered an additional place in which to identify subjects at risk for problematic use of alcohol and represent an environment in which primary prevention campaigns could be started.