Alcohol problems among Indian men
12:30pm Wednesday 21st October 2009 in Search
Alcohol-related problems among Indian men in the UK are disproportionately high, scientists have warned.
Indian men in the UK are more susceptible to the effects of alcohol than white British males, a new study showed.
Dr Gurprit Pannu, author of the report, said: “The evidence is showing that for every 100 white British males that are dying from alcohol-related disease in the UK there are 160 Indian men in the UK dying. That’s a massive increase.
”And on top of that what we see now is an increased admission rate to hospital.”
Scientists believe that the reason Indian men are more susceptible to the effects of alcohol is biological and cultural.
Dr Pannu said: “They have a different pattern of drinking. Sikhs, for example, drink spirits more than lager.
”With spirits, the alcohol consumption is higher and you are not going to get a full stomach like you do with lager.”
The report urges the Government to provide more “culturally specific” advice to help combat the problem.
Dr Pannu said it was a “myth” that Indian men did not drink much alcohol.
He said: “Historically people think that people from the Indian sub-continent drink less than people here in the UK but he evidence put together showed that this just wasn’t true.”
The report, titled Alcohol Use In South Asians In The UK, was written for the British Medical Journal.
It was conducted by Dr Pannu, a consultant psychiatrist at Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in West Sussex.
His research was gathered at an international conference organised by the South Asian Health Foundation.
Dr Pannu said: “The conference brought together a number of international experts in this area and we collected their findings for the editorial.”
