Abstract
Evaluating the impact of population-level alcohol control measures on the prevalence of alcohol use disorders in Lithuania
Vytautas Kavolis Transdisciplinary Research Institute, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania
Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania
Health Research Institute, Faculty of Public Health, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania
Department of Sociology and Public Health, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Warsaw, Poland
Alcohol Drug Addict 2026; 39 (1): 1-12
Introduction
From 2015 to 2020, Lithuania implemented the package of evidence-based population-
level alcohol control policy measures. Evaluation of their impact on the prevalence of alcohol
use disorders (AUDs) is crucial, as it is often claimed in public debate that restricting the affordability and availability of alcohol would not affect alcohol abusers who always find their way to satisfy their thirst for alcohol. This study aims to examine changes in the prevalence of AUDs between 2015 and 2020, in the context of strengthened alcohol control policies introduced during this
period.
Material and methods
The analysis is based on data from the Standard European Alcohol Survey, conducted in 2015 and repeated in 2020. We integrated variables on DSM-IV alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence, comparing the survey results with official statistics on AUDs.
Results
Our findings demonstrated a notable reduction in alcohol use disorders in Lithuania between 2015 and 2020. The decrease is particularly strong among women. In both years, men consistently exhibit a much higher prevalence than women.
Discussions
While the results demonstrate a temporal association between the observed decline in AUDs and the implementation of alcohol control policy measures, they do not prove a causal relationship. However, our findings are in line with results from earlier studies, which confirmed a substantial decline in alcohol harm in the study period.
Conclusions
This study demonstrates a significant decline in self-reported alcohol use disorders between 2015 and 2020 in Lithuania, indicating a positive shift in alcohol-related health outcomes that could be attributed to the introduction of
alcohol control policies.
Keywords
Lithuania, Alcohol abuse, Alcohol dependence, Alcohol control policy, Standard European Alcohol Survey
