Abstract
Background: In 2005, the World Health Assembly asked member states to develop effective strategies and programs to reduce the negative consequences of harmful use of alcohol. To develop effective policies, we must already understand the phenomenon of alcohol consumption. But in Francophone west Africa, there are very few studies on the prevalence of alcohol, consumption patterns and factors associated with this consumption. The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of alcohol use in schools in Burkina Faso and to identify socio-demographic factors associated with episodes of “heavy drinking”. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in October 2013 in six secondary schools of Bobo-Dioulasso. Three hundred and sixty-two students randomly drawn by stratified cluster sampling were interviewed by using a self-administered questionnaire adapted from the model ESPAD and WHO AUDIT questionnaire. HED (Heavy Episodic Drinking) was defined as consuming at least six local measures of alcoholic beverages around the 30 days prior investigation. The search for factors was performed using logistic regression and estimating standard errors were adjusted for clustering data. Results: The prevalence of experimentation of alcohol was estimated to 45.6% [CI 95% = 40.4 - 50.7]. This prevalence was reduced to 34.8% [CI 95% = 29.9 - 39.7], 24.3% [CI 95% = 19.9 - 28.7] and 18% [CI 95% = 14 - 21.9] if one considered the use of alcohol at least once respectively in the 12 months, 30 days and 7 days before the survey. The prevalence of HED was 16% [CI95% = 12.2 - 19.8]. Independent factors associated with the HED were alcohol use by parents or friends and father’s occupation. Episodes of “heavy drinking” were 8.3 (CI 95% = 4.9 - 14) and 2.8 (CI 95% = 1.3 - 5.8) respectively more frequent among students whose parents and friends were drinking. Neither religion nor sex nor age was not statistically associated with HED. Conclusion: This study confirms the high prevalence of alcohol consumption in schools in Burkina Faso and challenges policy makers to adopt effective policies to fight against the harmful use of alcohol especially in schools.
Highlights
The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of alcohol use in schools in Burkina Faso and to identify socio-demographic factors associated with episodes of “heavy drinking”
This study confirms the high prevalence of alcohol consumption in schools in Burkina Faso and challenges policy makers to adopt effective policies to fight against the harmful use of alcohol especially in schools
In 2012, 3.3 million deaths and 5.1% of the global burden of disease were attributable to alcohol consumption according to the World Health Organization (WHO) [1]
Summary
In 2012, 3.3 million deaths and 5.1% of the global burden of disease were attributable to alcohol consumption according to the World Health Organization (WHO) [1]. The use of alcohol may affect health but the way we drink counts. This defines Heavy Episodic Drinking (HED) as the consumption of 60 grams or more of pure alcohol (6 or more standard measures in most countries) on one occasion during the last 30 days [1]. People classified in the category HED constitute a risk group even if their alcohol consumption is usually low because episodes of heavy drinking exposed to violence, injury, poisoning [1]. The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of alcohol use in schools in Burkina Faso and to identify socio-demographic factors associated with episodes of “heavy drinking”.
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