Abstract
Purpose: Investigations suggest non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) is associated with heavy drinking and polydrug use among university students. Our aim is to determine the prevalence of NMUPD among university students and to analyze its association with alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis use, and to study the role of the age of drinking onset. Methods: Cohort study among university Spanish students (n = 1382). Heavy drinking (HED) and risky consumption (RC) were measured with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Questions related to tobacco and cannabis consumption were also formulated. NMUPD refers to sedative, anxiety, or pain medication intake within the last 15 days without medical prescription. All variables were measured at 18, 20, and 27 years. Multilevel logistic regression for repeated measures was used to obtain adjusted OR (odds ratios). We analyzed the results from a gender perspective. Results: Prevalence of NMUPD were higher in students who already partook in NMUPD at the beginning of the study. NMUPD in women at 27 is 3 times higher than at 18, while in men it is twice. Among females, RC (OR = 1.43) and cannabis consumption (OR = 1.33) are risk factors for NMUPD, while later onset of alcohol use (OR = 0.66) constitutes a protective factor. No significant differences were found for males. Conclusions: NMUPD is prevalent among university students. RC and early onset of alcohol use were associated with higher prevalence of NMUPD in females. The prevalence of NMUPD increased with age in both sexes. Strategies for reducing risky drinking and delaying onset of drinking should be provided for university students. Pharmacists and parents should be alerted to the risk of NMUPD.
Highlights
Substance abuse in young people is a serious public health concern, especially in regard to cannabis and highly prevalent forms of alcohol risky consumption such as heavy episodic drinking [1,2]
non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) is prevalent among university students
risky consumption (RC) and early onset of alcohol use were associated with higher prevalence of NMUPD in females
Summary
Substance abuse in young people is a serious public health concern, especially in regard to cannabis and highly prevalent forms of alcohol risky consumption such as heavy episodic drinking [1,2]. Abuse of these substances has been associated with neurocognitive alterations in the still developing young brain [3,4] and with other major social problems such as traffic accidents and unsafe sex [5,6]. NMUPD has increased steadily among young people in the last decade (usually linked to self-treatment, experimentation, and readily accessibility), and the consequent incidence of unintentional overdoses. Public Health 2019, 16, 2939; doi:10.3390/ijerph16162939 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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