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Prevalence of hazardous drinking among nursing students

2014; Wiley; Volume: 71; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/jan.12548

1365-2648

Joseba Rabanales-Sotos, Ángel López‐González, Ignacio Párraga Martínez, Monchi Campos Rosa, María José Simarro Herráez, Jesús López‐Torres Hidalgo,

Alcohol Consumption and Health Effects

Abstract Aims To estimate the frequency of alcohol consumption among nursing students and describe their behaviour patterns in relation to excessive consumption. Background Most alcohol‐related problems appear in individuals who indulge in hazardous consumption, with hazardous drinkers constituting a priority in the field of preventive activities. According to previous studies, there is a high proportion of hazardous drinkers among university students. Design Descriptive cross‐sectional study. Methods Over the course of the 2012–2013 academic year, we assessed 1060 nursing degree students, ascertaining their socio‐demographic characteristics, lifestyle and alcohol consumption by means of the Systematic Alcohol Consumption Interview ( Interrogatorio Sistematizado de Consumos Alcohólicos/ ISCA ) and Alcohol Use Disorders Inventory Test ( AUDIT ). Results Hazardous alcohol consumption was observed in 43·4% of students. Moreover, 14·9% of men and 18·7% of women met criteria for hazardous drinkers, without any statistically significant difference between the sexes. The frequency of hazardous drinkers was significantly higher among participants aged under 21 years, those living outside the family nucleus and smokers. Conclusion A considerable proportion of students show evidence of hazardous alcohol consumption and, while there are no sex‐related differences, the proportion of hazardous drinkers tends to be higher among the youngest subjects, smokers and persons living outside the family nucleus. Alcohol‐prevention activities should envisage greater protection of university settings, particularly where future health professionals are involved.