Alcohol consumption by university students

Consumption of alcoholic beverages is widely encouraged by the mass media, despite the related health risks. Today's students in the health fields are the professionals of tomorrow who will be providing advice and serving as role models for patients. The aim of this study was to analyze alcohol consumption and related factors among these students. A total of 608 male and female university students from Maceió, the capital of Alagoas State, Brazil, completed a self-administered questionnaire. Data analysis included Poisson regression and multinomial logistic models. Prevalence of lifetime use of alcohol was 90.4%. Prevalence of alcohol abuse was 18.3% in men and 6.1% in women. Heavier alcohol consumption and alcohol abuse were observed in males, older students, non-natives of Maceió, smokers, and those exposed to alcohol advertising. The results emphasized the vulnerability of these young people to risky health behaviors. Their future social role highlights distinct needs in their university education to enable them to act professionally in this area.     

Alcohol use among university students in Sweden measured by an electronic screening instrument

Background  

Electronic-based alcohol screening and brief interventions for university students with problem drinking behaviours forms an important means by which to identify risky drinkers.     

Episode-centred analysis of drinking to intoxication in university students

AIMS: To demonstrate the use of an internet-based retrospective diary to measure intoxication and to describe the epidemiology of intoxication in a university community. METHODS: A probability sample of 1564 New Zealand university students completed an Internet-based survey (82% response), including a retrospective diary in which the volume consumed on each of the preceding seven days and the duration of each episode were recorded, along with the respondent's gender, weight, and their typical quantity/frequency of consumption, as a measure of tolerance. These parameters were used to compute an estimated blood alcohol concentration (EBAC) for each episode. RESULTS: Using an EBAC of 0.08 g/100 ml as a criterion for intoxication produced lower estimates of incidence than binge drinking guidelines (>40 g for women, >60 g for men), or subjective reports. EBACs of 0.08 g per cent were exceeded at least weekly by 37% of women and 39% of men. Teenage females had higher EBACs than teenage males, despite lower consumption. Intoxication was positively associated with lower age, European or Maori ethnicity relative to Asian, Pacific, or other ethnicities, and with residential halls relative to other living arrangements. Faculty of study was inconsistently related to intoxication. Discussion: Frequent drinking to intoxication is normative behaviour in this population group. Of particular concern are intoxication levels in females aged 16-21 years and in males throughout their 20s. The web-based retrospective diary is a useful means of measuring intoxication by self-report. Where time permits it can be enhanced by specification of drinking locations and beverage-specific questions.     

Alcohol use in Czech pharmacy students

In academic years 2002/3-2004/5, the use of alcohol was investigated by anonymous questionnaire in 1,032 first and third year pharmacy students in the Czech Republic. Frequencies of beer, wine and spirits use, the age of the first contact with alcoholic beverages, the age of the first drunkenness and the frequency of drunkenness in the last month were ascertained. Average age of the first contact with alcoholic beverages was 12.9 years. 40.5% and 10.9% of students reported regular and hazardous drinking, respectively, with significantly higher proportion of men than women. Hazardous alcohol drinking significantly increased between academic years 2002/3 and 2004/5, no significant differences were found in the proportion of non-drinkers and regular alcohol drinkers over the 3-year-period of the survey. Both regular and hazardous drinking patterns were significantly related to the financial situation of the students. Significant associations were also found between alcohol consumption and using of both licit and illicit drugs of abuse.     

Alcohol intoxication

Alcohol intoxication is the principal drug addiction in many countries of the world. It affects all age groups, both sexes and almost all social groups. Mortality associated with acute alcohol poisoning on its own is exceptional, but it can be an important factor if it coexists with recreational drugs. It is directly responsible for more than half of traffic accidents. Diagnosis is easy by means of anamnesis and clinical examination, and can be confirmed by determining the level of ethanol in the bloodstream. Supportive care is the best therapy in order to protect the patient from secondary complications. Methanol, or alcohol fuel, is used as a solvent, and can also be found as an adulterant of alcoholic drinks. Poisoning by oral means is the most frequent. Oxidized in the liver through dehydrogenase enzyme alcohol, toxicity is due to its metabolites, formaldehyde and formic acid. The clinical picture basically consists of cephalea, nausea, vomiting, hypotension and depression of the central nervous system. The optic nerve is especially sensitive, with total and irreversible blindness as a possible result. Ethylenglicol is used as a solvent and as an antifreeze; toxicity is due to an accumulation of its metabolites. The clinical picture includes symptoms that are held in common with methylalcohol intoxication. Kidney failure due to tubular necrosis and the deposit of oxalate crystals can occur.     

大学生体育运动中常见运动损伤原因分析

摘要:目的　研究普通高校大学生在体育运动中常见的运动损伤特点及可能原因,提出相应对策。方法　分层整群抽样法问卷调查某校大学4个年级984位学生的运动损伤情况,包括性别、年级、发生损伤的时间、所参与的体育项目、损伤部位与类型、损伤发生原因自评等内容。结果　本次研究发现大学生运动损伤率为53.9%,以一年级学生最高,四年级最低。运动损伤多发生在课外活动,损伤部位以膝关节最常见,损伤类型以擦伤、扭伤、挫伤、拉伤最为常见,且比率接近。男生以拉伤最多（27.3%）,女生以擦伤最多（26.9%）。足球与篮球都是大学生运动损伤最常见的项目。最主要的损伤原因是麻痹大意（57.5%）,其次为准备活动不充分。女生发生损伤的较常见的原因还有技术失误（40.7%）、体质原因（43.1%）。结论　大学运动损伤较为常见,应在今后的体育教学中加强技术指导,提高学生的自我保护能力与意识,帮助学生缓解体育锻炼中的心理压力,培养大学生科学锻炼的水平以促进身心健康的发展。     

体育生活化教学对女大学生原发性痛经的影响

目的:了解体育生活化教学对女大学生原发性痛经的影响,探讨体育生活化教学对原发性痛经的影响机制。方法:将65名原发性痛经的女大学生按痛经程度随机分为实验组35名和对照组30名,实验组女大学生实行体育生活化教学,对照组女大学生实行传统教学,教学时间均为两年,在中断体育教学半年后对两组的痛经症状进行评比。结果:体育生活化教学对原发性痛经有很好的疗效,实验组痛经症状评分与对照组比较差异有统计学意义(P<0.01)。结论:体育生活化教学可使学生形成一种良好的生活方式,这种生活方式能有效地缓解原发性痛经症状。     

Alcohol intoxication in four adolescents

Four teenagers, two boys aged 14 and almost 13 years and two girls aged 14.5 and 15 years, were hospitalised because acute alcohol intoxication was suspected. Three of them had only a single instance of excessive alcohol consumption, but the 13-year-old boy was admitted twice in three months due to alcohol intoxication. The blood alcohol concentration in these adolescents varied between 1.4 and 2.3 g/l. During admission the patients were treated symptomatically and there were no complications. Loss of consciousness occurs at lower blood alcohol concentrations in adolescents than in adults. There is also a greater risk of mild hypoglycaemia. In case of recurring excessive alcohol consumption, further psychosocial counselling is necessary.     

Alcohol use beliefs and behaviors among high school students

Purpose: To identify specific alcohol use beliefs and behaviors among local high school students; to determine whether relationships exist between alcohol use and various sociodemographic and lifestyle behaviors; and to assist in the development and implementation of alcohol abuse prevention programs.Methods: This cross-sectional study involved the completion of a questionnaire by 1236 Grade 9–13 students (86% response rate) from 62 randomly selected classrooms in three Canadian urban schools. Data analyzed here are part of a larger lifestyle survey.Results: A total of 24% of students reported never having tasted alcohol, 22% have tasted alcohol but do not currently drink, 39% are current moderate drinkers, 11% are current heavy drinkers (five or more drinks on one occasion at least once a month), and 5% did not answer. Reasons stated most often for not drinking were “bad for health” and “upbringing,” while reasons stated most often for drinking were “enjoy it” and “to get in a party mood.” Student drinking patterns were significantly related to gender, ethnicity, grade, and the reported drinking habits of parents and friends. Older male adolescents who describe their ethnicity as Canadian are at higher risk for heavy drinking than students who are younger or female, or identify their ethnicity as European or Asian. Current heavy drinkers are at higher risk than other students for engaging in other high-risk behaviors such as drinking and driving, being a passenger in a car when the driver is intoxicated, and daily smoking.Conclusions: Heavy alcohol use in adolescents remains an important community health concern. Older self-described Canadian and Canadian-born male adolescents are at higher risk for heavy drinking. Current and heavy drinking rises significantly between Grades 9 and 12. Students who drink heavily are more likely to drink and drive, to smoke daily, and to have friends and parents who drink alcohol.     

Alcohol use, related problems and psychological health in college students

This study examined the prevalence of alcohol use, alcohol-related problems, psychological distress, anxiety and depression mood and the relationship between these variables in a sample of 534 college students in the USA. In college men, 91% were current alcohol users (those who use alcohol at least once a month) and in college women 80% were current alcohol users (p < 0.01). Current users were further divided into two groups, moderate and heavy, considering the amount and frequency of alcohol use. Beer was more popular among moderate users than heavy users in both sexes. Over 90% of both moderate and heavy users in both men and women had used hard liquor in the 30-day period preceding the survey. College men had more alcohol-related problems than did college women. Blackouts, getting into fights and not being able to meet school responsibilities were the common alcohol-related adverse outcomes reported by the participants. No associations were found between alcohol use and distress and between alcohol use and depressive mood. Mean values of the anxiety scores, however, were higher in moderate users in the male sample compared to that of the female sample. The findings have implications for theories of alcohol-related psychological health in college students.     

广州市大、中学生精神活性物质使用情况调查

目的了解广东省广州市大、中学生精神活性物质使用现状,为开展相关健康教育提供参考,为制定有针对性的干预措施提供依据。方法以自填匿名问卷调查方法,对广州市8所中学、10所大学的4594名学生进行调查。结果有26.1%的学生尝试过吸烟,6.2%的学生目前吸烟;有62.4%的学生尝试过饮酒,因喝酒而受伤的学生占14.0%;有4.3%的学生使用过复方止咳药水,1.2%的学生使用过其他违禁药物;男生精神活性物质使用率高于女生,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);高中生严重吸烟、饮酒伤害、复方止咳药水、其他违禁药物项目的使用率高于大学生和初中生,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。学习成绩差、父母关系不好、教育方式为体罚的学生精神活性物质使用率较高。结论广州市大中学生中精神活性物质使用情况不容乐观,尤其是复方止咳药水的使用较高,需要从学校、家庭、社会等多个方面开展综合预防措施。     

Factors associated with drug and alcohol use among university students

OBJECTIVE: Recent studies show an alarming rate of alcohol and drug use among university students. The objective of this study was to assess the level of association between lifestyle and socioeconomic status and the prevalence of alcohol, tobacco, medicine, and "illicit drug" use in the last 12 months among university students. METHODS: The sample included 926 undergraduate students in the Biology Department of a university in S?o Paulo who completed an anonymous, self-applied questionnaire in 2000 and 2001. Anova and Chi-square tests were applied to verify the correlation between substance use and variables. RESULTS: Among students who reported having a religion, alcohol consumption was 83.1%, tobacco use 20.7%, and "illicit drugs" 24.6% during this period. Among students who reported not having a religion, reported alcohol use was higher in the last 12 months: alcohol (89.3%), tobacco (27.7%) and "illicit drugs" (37.7%). Monthly family income was related to alcohol and "illicit drug" use (p<0.001 for both). The students who used tobacco and "illicit drugs" reported more free time during the week than students who didn't smoke during the period of time analyzed (p=0.033 and p=0.008, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Psychoactive drug use was common among students, indicating a need for policies to be implemented with the goal of reducing consumption. Students with higher family income and without religion should be considered to be at higher risk for alcohol and drug use among this group.     

Religiosity,sexual intercourse and condom use among university students

Abstract: There is strong evidence that religiosity among adolescents is associated with delayed onset of sexual activity. However, research on relationships between religiosity and contraceptive practices is limited and inconsistent. This paper provides data from a survey of 374 students aged between 16 and 21 at two Brisbane universities (72.4 per cent response rate). Those who perceived religion to be important in their lives were less likely to have had intercourse. Among the sexually active sample, religious youth did not differ from their peers in recent condom use, the age at which they first used condoms or the rate of partner change. Contrary to several recent assertions in review articles, this and other empirical studies do not show that religious youth are less likely than nonreligious youth to take precautions during sex.     

Attitudes toward condom use among high school and university students in Zimbabwe

Utilizing a sample of students (N = 504) from Matabeleland, Zimbabwe, Africa, this study investigated the extent to which knowledge of AIDS and two components of the Health Belief Model are related to: 1) attitude toward condom use, and 2) intentions to use a condom in future sexual encounters. Results indicated that knowledge of AIDS is not significantly related to any of the two dependent variables. However, belief in the efficacy of condoms, and lack of barriers to the use of condoms were significantly related to both dependent variables. Discussion focused on the role of religion and SES in influencing attitudes and decisions about condom use.     

Alcohol use and abuse in random samples of physicians and medical students.

BACKGROUND. This study sought to resolve conflicting views about whether physicians are especially prone to alcohol abuse. METHODS. Using an anonymous, mailed questionnaire on substance use, we surveyed 500 physicians, 510 pharmacists, and 974 of their students. The physicians and pharmacists were selected randomly from the state society's membership lists, and students selected were from local school lists. Follow-up surveys were sent to nonresponders at two-week intervals. RESULTS. The physicians and medical students did not drink especially heavily and were no more vulnerable to alcoholism than were their counterparts in pharmacy and other professions. Physicians differed from pharmacists in their style of drinking (greater frequency, smaller quantity), but not in total amount of alcohol consumed. Drinking habits among physicians were not associated with medical specialty or type of practice, but were positively related to gender (males drank more than females) and to age (older doctors were more apt to qualify as heavy drinkers than were younger doctors). CONCLUSIONS. Physicians were no more likely to abuse substances nonmedically than were other professionals. Any group in which alcohol use is nearly universal incurs a risk of abuse and impairment that cannot be ignored.     

Alcohol and drug use in second-year medical students at the University of Leeds

OBJECTIVE: In view of recent media attention concerning the high level of alcohol and drug use reported in a group of newly qualified junior doctors, the aim of the present study was to assess the alcohol and drug habits of a group of current medical students. METHODS: Information about alcohol and illicit drug use was obtained from 136 second-year medical students (46 men, 90 women) at the University of Leeds by means of a personally administered questionnaire. Levels of anxiety and depression were also assessed. RESULTS: 86% of the students drank alcohol and among those who drank, a high proportion (52.6% of the men and 50.6% of the women), exceeded the recommended weekly limit of alcohol consumption of 21 units for men and 14 units women per week). Illicit drug use was reported by 33.1% of students (28.3% of men, 35.6% of women). The drug most commonly used was cannabis. According to the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale, 41.2% of the students (37% of men, 43.3% of women) had anxiety ratings within the clinically significant range (HAD scale> 8); 9.5% of students demonstrated clinically significant levels of depression (HAD scale> 8). However, these high levels of anxiety and depression did not correlate with high levels of alcohol consumption or drug use.