{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]],"date-time":"2026-09-28T14:56:39Z","timestamp":1790607399399,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]],"date-time":"2026-08-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786492800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]],"date-time":"2026-08-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786492800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Public Health Challenges"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Heavy episodic drinking (HED) is a harmful pattern of alcohol use associated with sexual health outcomes. Global prevalence of HED is expected to increase from 20% to 23% by 2030, with females more likely to experience its negative health consequences. This study aimed to determine prevalence, predictors and sexual health correlates of HED among females of reproductive age in Ghana.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study employed a cross\u2010sectional study design that relied on a dataset from the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, 2022, which consisted of alcohol use history, background characteristics and sexual behaviours and health of 15,014 females. Associations and correlates were identified using chi\u2010square and binary logistic regression analyses, respectively.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Prevalence of HED among the study population was determined to be 2.1%, with age of 40\u201344 years (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]\u00a0=\u00a04.19; 95% confidence interval [CI]\u00a0=\u00a01.27, 13.87), smoking of cigarettes daily (AOR\u00a0=\u00a04.46; 95% CI\u00a0=\u00a01.00, 19.86) and history of terminated pregnancy (AOR\u00a0=\u00a01.65; 95% CI\u00a0=\u00a01.24, 2.20) identified as predictors of HED. Females with three extra\u2010spousal sexual partners (AOR\u00a0=\u00a06.45; 95% CI\u00a0=\u00a01.60, 26.10) and females who have had a genital discharge in the last 12 months (AOR\u00a0=\u00a03.57; 95% CI\u00a0=\u00a02.19, 5.81) had high odds of engaging in HED.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study found a low prevalence of HED (2.1%) but identified key high\u2010risk subgroups. Risky sexual behaviour and adverse sexual health were strongly associated with HED. Public health strategies should consider integrating alcohol screening into sexual and reproductive health services.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1002\/puh2.70336","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]],"date-time":"2026-08-12T17:35:23Z","timestamp":1786556123000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Prevalence, Predictors and Sexual Health Correlates of Heavy Episodic Drinking Among Females of Reproductive Age in Ghana"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"5","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-7748-679X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christian Chukwuma","family":"Ndu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nursing and Midwifery Garden City University College  Kumasi Ghana"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chioma 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