The prevalence of alcohol consumption over the last 30 days was recoded into categories according to WHO recommendations: low, mid or abusive alcohol consumption. Multinomial logistic regression analyses identified factors associated with the different levels of alcohol consumption.

Setting Population-based cross-sectional survey in Burkina Faso.

Participants 4692 participants of both sexes aged 25–64 years were included in the study.

Results In the whole sample, 3559 participants (75.8% (72.5%–78.7%)) were not consuming any alcohol, 614 (12.9% (10.9%–15.3%)) had low alcohol consumption, 399 (8.5% (7.1%–10.1%)) had mid alcohol consumption and 120 (2.7% (2.0%–3.7%)) had abusive consumption. Age was associated with alcohol intake with a gradient effect and older people having a higher level of consumption (adjusted OR (AOR): 2.36, 95% CI (1.59 to 3.51) for low consumption, 2.50 (1.54 to 4.07) for mid consumption and 2.37 (1.01 to 5.92) for abusive consumption in comparison with no consumption). Tobacco consumption was also significantly associated with alcohol intake with a gradient effect, those with higher tobacco consumption being at higher risk of abusive alcohol intake (AOR: 6.08 (2.75 to 13.4) for moderate consumption and 6.58 (1.96 to 22.11) for abusive consumption).

Conclusion Our data showed an important burden of alcohol consumption in Burkina Faso, which varied with age and tobacco use. To effectively reduce alcohol consumption in Burkina Faso, comprehensive control and prevention campaigns should consider these associated factors.