Alcohol ad density linked to drinking.

Women whose neighborhoods contain a high number of outdoor advertisements for alcohol are more likely to be problem drinkers, according to a study of black women in New York City's Harlem neighborhood.

The study, published in the February issue of AJPH, found that women who had a family history of problem drinking were at highest risk of having similar problems themselves. However, even after controlling for family history, socioeconomic status and location of alcohol stores, women who were exposed to more ads had 13 percent greater odds of being problem drinkers.

To determine alcohol ad exposure of the 140 women in the study, researchers from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University tracked the number and kinds of outdoor alcohol ads in the Harlem study area. The median exposure to alcohol advertising was about 14 ads per group of blocks as mapped by the study.

Past studies have shown that alcohol ads are more prevalent in black neighborhoods, the researchers noted. While the ads in the study did not specifically target women in particular, the "language, imagery and themes clearly targeted African-American people," the study said.

"Community residents often perceive these advertisements to be unfairly marketed toward African-American individuals and to represent a deliberate and nefarious targeting scheme for products that damage health," the researchers wrote. (Page 228)