Prevalence of Alcohol Use among Medical College Students in Hawler Medical University

Abstract

Background and objective: Moderate and Heavy/binge alcohol drinking among medical college students have become a major public health problem. There is consistent evidence suggesting that young adults in college are drinking more than their non–college-attending peers, but it is still not clear whether they are more likely to suffer from clinically significant alcohol use disorders. This article reports the first national assessment of patterns of drinking habit among Medical Colleges. The aim of this study was to monitor the use of alcohol and to search for intervention and prevention strategies in Medical college communities. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. Young adults students (n = 342) in four Medical College in Hawler Medical University were studied from the period between 20th Feb 2007- 20th April 2007 regarding use of alcohol, they were between 17-29 years old, 36% female, 64% male. A semi structured Questionnaires were distributed to students living in the four Medical colleges. The questionnaires asked for information on age, residency (how long they had lived in the college) and what substances they had used in the 6 months prior to the study (cigarettes, alcohol). The students also asked about academic and social activities. The data were expressed as descriptive frequencies and percentages. Results: 19.3% of college students (18, 4% of men, 0.9% of women) has occasional alcohol drink in the in the past 6 month, 4.4% has moderate to binge drinking which was completely among male students, students from College of Medicine form the higher rate of alcohol users (12.8%), while College of Nursing form the lowest rate (0.6%). Bars and restaurant form the major drinking context for the students (44.5%). Conclusion: The problem of alcohol use is increasing among students from medical college / Hawler University. College-based interventions seem desirable, especially in boys.