Estado nutricional, autopercepção do estado nutricional e experimentação de drogas lícitas em adolescentes

Abstract

ObjectiveTo associate the nutritional status and the self‐perception of nutritional status with the use of licit drugs among adolescents. MethodsCross‐sectional study in which 210 adolescents answered a questionnaire on alcohol and tobacco experimentation and self‐perceptions about their nutritional status. The correspondence between the adolescents’ perception of their own nutritional status and actual nutritional status was analyzed, as well as associations between nutritional status, self‐perception of nutritional status, gender, age, and presence of smokers at home with alcohol and tobacco use. The variables were analyzed separately in a bivariate analysis and, subsequently, a multivariate analysis determined the factors associated with drug use. ResultsThe study included 210 adolescents with a median age of 148 months; 56.6% were females. Of the total sample, 6.6% have tried cigarettes, and 20% have tried alcohol; 32.3% had BMI Z‐Score≥1, 12.85% had BMI Z‐Score≥2, and 50.7% had a correct perception of his/her weight. After a multivariate analysis, only the self‐perception about weight statistically influenced experimentation of tobacco, and patients who identified themselves as having very high weight were more likely to experiment tobacco (odds ratio (OR) 13.57; confidence interval (95% CI) 2.05‐89.8; p=0.007); regarding alcohol use, adolescents who identified themselves as having high weight were 2.4 times more likely to experiment with alcohol than adolescents that identified themselves as having normal weight (95% CI 1.08‐5.32, p=0.031). ConclusionsAdolescents with self‐perception of excess weight may constitute a risk group for alcohol and tobacco use.