Prevalence of Alcoholism and Related Problems in Medical and Paramedical Students Measured Using Shorter Version of Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT)

Abstract

Introduction: Alcohol consumption is a growing public health problem. Medical and para-medical professionals are seen as role models in society. However, alcohol consumption is also becoming a matter of concern among healthcare students as well.Aim: To determine the prevalence of students who consumed alcohol and identifying those with alcohol disorders using short version of Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT).Materials and Methods: A Cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted in a Deemed Private University in Southern part of India. Data on alcohol consumption was collected from 405 medical, dental and nursing students using shorter five item version of AUDIT. Data on other variables like gender, age, place of current residence, religion, specialty and year of study was collected using closed ended questionnaire. Frequency distribution for proportions and Logistic regression analysis was done to determine the influence of predictor variable on outcome variable.Results: Overall Prevalence of alcohol use was found to be 79.5 percent. Among these 56.5 percent were found having alcohol related problems. Males reported higher problems than females. Logistic regression revealed gender {odd’s ratio: 1.015; (p=0.03)} and year of study {odd’s ratio: 0.743 (p=0.02)} to be influencing alcohol related problems.Conclusion: Prevalence of alcohol consumption and those with related problems was found to be more than 50 percent (both males and females). There is a need to draft and implement policies by university which utilizes existing resources to prevent the increasing proportion of students consuming alcohol, with associated problems.