Abstract
This cross-sectional study investigated the association between alcohol use by adolescents and the availability of alcohol outlets in the neighborhood of public schools. We collected primary data including variables at individual and school neighborhood level. Multilevel logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (95%CI) for alcohol use with the exposure variables. A total of 18.4% (95%CI: 13.2; 24.1) of adolescents reported using alcohol, which was associated with variables on the individual level such as being 18 years or older, working, and having previously smoked. Lower alcohol use was observed among adolescents from schools that were located 250m or more from alcohol outlets (OR = 0.29; 95%CI: 0.17; 0.48). Actions to reduce the use of alcohol among adolescents should take student's and school neighborhood's characteristics into account.
Highlights
Alcohol is the most used psychotropic substance in the world 1 and generally its use starts during adolescence 2
This study investigated the association between alcohol use by adolescents and the availability of alcohol outlets in the neighborhoods of public schools
A cross-sectional study was conducted with primary data collection as part of the project Overweight and Characteristics of the School Environment in Students of Curitiba, Paraná, that investigated the association of overweight with socioeconomic, demographic, school environment characteristics and health-related behavior in adolescents attending public schools in Curitiba, Paraná State, Brazil
Summary
Alcohol is the most used psychotropic substance in the world 1 and generally its use starts during adolescence 2. It is considered a risk factor for non-transmissible chronic diseases, and according to the World Health Organization it was partially or fully associated with 6% of deaths worldwide 3. In Latin America and the Caribbean one in every three students between 13 and 15 years reported having used alcohol at least once over the last month, with South America having a higher use rate (37.7%) than the Caribbean (24.6%). Data from the Brazilian Adolescent School-based Health Survey (PeNSE) in 2015 show a prevalence of alcohol use in Brazilian adolescents between 13 and years old of 24.1%, and of 34.8% among those to 17 years old 6 In Brazil, the most comprehensive study about alcohol consumption among adolescents is the Study of Cardiovascular Risks in Adolescents (ERICA), conducted in 2013-2014, which showed that one in every five adolescents consumed alcohol at least once in the last 30 days and 24.1% experimented alcohol for the first time at 12 years old 5.
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