Alcohol, cigarette, and illegal substance consumption among medical students: a cross-sectional survey

Effects of a healthcare students' prevention intervention for school children on their own substance use: a before-after study

BACKGROUND

Cognitive dissonance theory and research has suggested that engaging in prevention interventions for other students may be a means of reducing one's own problematic behaviors in order to reduce potential cognitive dissonance. This study assessed the effects of a new mandatory prevention intervention program for healthcare students in France. The aim was to measure the effects of engaging in a prevention program in schools on the usual increase in substance use in student populations.

METHODS

Healthcare students were trained in a French university to develop psychosocial competences as a health promotion means (FEPS training) or more specifically to prevent substance use in teenagers (Unplugged program training). The students (n = 314) who accepted to take part in the study from both groups completed questionnaires before their interventions in schools, and at the end of the year, measuring their representations and behaviors regarding psychoactive substances.

RESULTS

The results indicated a significant reduction in alcohol consumption in terms of quantity, but no significant reduction in tobacco and marijuana consumption.

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed that, contrary to the usual increase in substance use in students as they advance in their year, the students who took part in this study showed reduced self-reported consumption of alcohol after they had performed the prevention intervention in schools regardless of the type of training they had received (general health promotion vs. specific substance use prevention program). Limitations and future perspectives are discussed.

Drug use, risk perceptions and attitudes towards drug use amongst medical and dentistry students

AIMS

To analyse the use of psychoactive substances and the risk perceptions amongst odontology and medical students. To study their perceptions, attitudes and knowledge, and to evaluate their motivation when helping their patients to stop using these substances.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted amongst 962 students in Spain, using validated questionnaires on an anonymous basis.

RESULTS

Amongst these students, drug use varies and increases with age as assessed by the DAST and CAST tests, with more problematic use being observed as the academic cycle progresses (p < .001). Participants in the 2nd cycle presented higher consumption than those in the 1st cycle, in the univariate model (OR = 1.77, IC 95% 1.27-2.48, p = .001) and in the adjusted model (OR = 1.86, IC 95% 1.32-2.62, p < .001). Regarding CAST, non-problematic use in the 1st cycle versus the 3rd cycle presented an OR = 8.69 (IC 95% 4.50-16.78, p < .001) and for low risk use it presented an OR = 15.18 (IC 95% 1.83-14.68). Only 46.7% considered using marijuana on a regular basis as a high risk, whilst 60.5% stated that smoking a pack of cigarettes represents a high risk. Alcohol was the substance for which the risk perception was lowest. 66.2% are in the maintenance stage "I provide my regular drug-using patients help to give up," with women being more likely to be in this stage (p = .012).

CONCLUSIONS

High risk of drug use increases after the 1st cycle in Dentistry and in Medicine. Training programmes should be implemented in both degrees, focusing on the 1st years in order to simultaneously prevent drug use amongst students.

Gender differences in alcohol abuse/dependence among medical undergraduates during the post-COVID‑19 pandemic period (October 20, 2020-April 5, 2021) in China

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to assess the prevalence and the gender-specific risk factors of alcohol abuse/dependence among medical undergraduates during the post-COVID‑19 pandemic period in China.

METHOD

The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C) was used to identify respondents with alcohol abuse/dependence. A questionnaire on basic demographics and mental distresses (learning burnout, depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, excessive daytime sleepiness, and history of mental disorders) was used. The logistic regression model was used to explore the associations between the above characteristics and alcohol abuse/dependence.

RESULTS

A total of 3,412 medical undergraduates were included in the analysis. Males showed a higher prevalence of alcohol abuse/dependence than females (16.6% vs 7.4%, p < 0.001). Alcohol abuse/dependence was associated with learning burnout (OR: 2.168, p < 0.001) and having a partner (OR: 1.788 p = 0.001) among female medical undergraduates. Among male medical undergraduates, excessive daytime sleepiness (OR: 1.788 p = 0.001) and older age (OR: 1.788, p = 0.001) were independently associated with alcohol abuse/dependence.

CONCLUSION

Alcohol abuse/dependence was common among medical undergraduates during the post-COVID‑19 pandemic period. Substantial gender differences in the prevalence and risk factors of alcohol abuse/dependence were found among medical undergraduates in this study, which highlighted the need for timely gender-specific screening and interventions. However, the cross-sectional design adopted in this study has limited the examination of causality, thus further longitudinal studies are warranted.

Frequency of Smoking, Alcohol Consumption, and Substance Use in Relation to General Health Indicators in Guilan University of Medical Sciences

Background

The risk of substance use is increasing among university students, especially medical students. This study aimed to investigate the frequency of smoking, alcohol consumption, and substance use and its relationship with general health indicators among the students of Guilan University of Medical Sciences (GUMS) in 2020. The differences in the frequency of substance use were also investigated from 2005.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional analytical study conducted on 406 students of GUMS, Iran, in 2020. The data were collected through three online questionnaires including a demographic questionnaire, the Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST), and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). The data were entered into SPSS software version 22 and analyzed using Chi-square, Fisher's Exact tests, and logistic regression at a significance level of 0.05.

Findings

In this study, 53.9% of the participants were female, 46.1% were male, and 54.4% of them experienced using substances in their lifetime. The highest prevalence of use was in consumers of tobacco (46.8%), alcoholic beverages (34.7%), and cannabinoid compounds (19%). Besides, 48.5% of the participants were suspected of having some degree of psychiatric disorders, among which depression (11.6%) and anxiety (8.4%) were the most common. Moreover, substance use during students' lifetime had a statistically significant association with anxiety, depression, and mental health.

Conclusion

The results of this study showed the prevalence of smoking, alcohol consumption, and substance use among the students of GUMS is worrying. The relationship between consumption and consumer's health indicators highlights the necessity of intervention and purposeful planning by policymakers in this field.

Drug use among medical students in São Paulo, Brazil: a cross-sectional study during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic

BACKGROUND

Medical students demonstrate higher rates of substance use than other university students and the general population. The challenges imposed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic raised significant concerns about mental health and substance use.

OBJECTIVES

Assess the current prevalence of substance use among medical students at the University of São Paulo and evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on drug consumption.

DESIGN AND SETTING

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 275 medical students from the University of São Paulo Medical School (São Paulo, Brazil) in August 2020.

METHODS

Substance use (lifetime, previous 12 months, and frequency of use before and during the COVID-19 pandemic) and socioeconomic data were assessed using an online self-administered questionnaire. Symptoms of depression were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9.

RESULTS

Alcohol was the most consumed substance in their lifetime (95.6%), followed by illicit drugs (61.1%), marijuana (60%), and tobacco (57.5%). The most commonly consumed substances in the previous year were alcohol (82.9%), illicit drugs (44.7%), marijuana (42.5%), and tobacco (36%). Students in the first two academic years consumed fewer substances than those from higher years. There was a decreasing trend in the prevalence of most substances used after the COVID-19 pandemic among sporadic users. However, frequent users maintained their drug use patterns.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of substance use was high in this population and increased from the basic to the clinical cycle. The COVID-19 pandemic may have affected the frequency of drug use and prevalence estimates.

Cannabis Use in Physicians: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Cannabis use by physicians can be detrimental for them and their patients. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on the prevalence of cannabis use by medical doctors (MDs)/students. Method: PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, PsycInfo and ScienceDirect were searched for studies reporting cannabis use in MDs/students. For each frequency of use (lifetime/past year/past month/daily), we stratified a random effect meta-analysis depending on specialties, education level, continents, and periods of time, which were further compared using meta-regressions. Results: We included 54 studies with a total of 42,936 MDs/students: 20,267 MDs, 20,063 medical students, and 1976 residents. Overall, 37% had used cannabis at least once over their lifetime, 14% over the past year, 8% over the past month and 1.1 per thousand (‱) had a daily use. Medical students had a greater cannabis use than MDs over their lifetime (38% vs. 35%, p < 0.001), the past year (24% vs. 5%, p < 0.001), and the past month (10% vs. 2%, p < 0.05), without significance for daily use (0.5% vs. 0.05%, NS). Insufficient data precluded comparisons among medical specialties. MDs/students from Asian countries seemed to have the lowest cannabis use: 16% over their lifetime, 10% in the past year, 1% in the past month, and 0.4% daily. Regarding periods of time, cannabis use seems to follow a U-shape, with a high use before 1990, followed by a decrease between 1990 and 2005, and a rebound after 2005. Younger and male MDs/students had the highest cannabis use. Conclusions: If more than a third of MDs tried cannabis at least once in their lifetime, this means its daily use is low but not uncommon (1.1‱). Medical students are the biggest cannabis users. Despite being common worldwide, cannabis use is predominant in the West, with a rebound since 2005 making salient those public health interventions during the early stage of medical studies.

Toxic Habits and Well-Being Measures in Spanish Healthcare University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

BACKGROUND

Unhealthy lifestyles are strongly entrenched in healthcare universities and have sometimes been linked to stress or lack of sleep. This study investigated the prevalence of toxic habits (smoking, patterns of harmful alcohol use, and illicit drug use), stress levels, perceived health status, and sleep duration and assessed the connections between toxic habits and said well-being measures, as well as healthcare students' perception of the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on these health-related behaviors.

METHODS

In a cross-sectional study, healthcare students from Alfonso X University (Spain) completed a health survey composed of Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), self-perceived health status, and the number of hours of sleep.

RESULTS

A total of 997 healthcare students completed the survey, of which 982 were analyzed. Being a smoker (32.2%) was associated with worse health status and insufficient sleep. Risk drinkers (33.2%) were associated with being female, and the consumption of cannabinoids (6.7%), with being male. These three toxic habits were related to each other. High levels of stress (28.2%) were correlated with worse ratings in the perception of health status (29.2%) and with insufficient sleep (45.8%), and all of them were associated with the female sex. Respectively, 49.3% and 44.2% of students recognized a worsening in their perception of stress and their sleep habits during the pandemic.

CONCLUSION

Healthcare universities must carry out health promotion programs for stress management, sleep habits, and unhealthy lifestyles.

Oral cancer knowledge and practice among medical students: A cross-sectional study during the Syrian crisis

Background

lack of medical practitioners’ knowledge about oral cancer has contributed to delays in referral and treatment. Oral cancer is amenable to treatment when detected early, which leads to better prognosis and survival rates. In this study, we aimed to assess the knowledge of the Syrian medical students about the risk factors of oral cancer, oral cavity changes associated with oral cancer, and the relation between the relation with Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and oral cancer.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional study conducted at the Syrian Private University. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires, which targeted social demographic information, general knowledge, risk factors, oral changes and HPV knowledge associated with oral cancer. Data was categorized and analyzed to assess and compare the levels of knowledge between clinical and preclinical students.

Results

301 out of 401 medical students responded to the questionnaires bringing the response rate to 75.25%. The study revealed adequate knowledge about oral cancer, general information, clinical features, risk factors and relation to HPV. Clinical students showed higher levels of awareness compared to pre-clinical students. No significance in knowledge was found between the genders.

Conclusion

The findings of the present study suggest that there is a need to reinforce the medical curriculum concerning oral cancer education, particularly in prevention and early detection to improve practices.

•

In Syria, the incidence and mortality rates of OC and OPC were 2 and 0.8 per 100,000 annum, respectively.

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Awareness about OC was positively correlated with the year of study

•

Low level of awareness about OC was found among medical students.

Social support and subjective well-being among postgraduate medical students: the mediating role of anxiety and the moderating role of alcohol and tobacco use

Medical students often face pressures from various sources in the course of postgraduate studies, and these factors have a negative impact on their subjective well-being. Previous researches have revealed that social support is a vital factor influencing subjective well-being, but unfortunately the underlying mechanism for this is unclear, especially for postgraduate medical students. The current study has inspected the effects of social support on subjective well-being of postgraduate medical students, the mediating role of anxiety and the moderating role of alcohol and tobacco use in the association between social support and subjective well-being of postgraduate medical students. A sample of 900 postgraduate medical students (Mage = 27.01 years, SD = 3.33) from The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University completed the Social Support Rating Scale, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, the Tobacco and Alcohol Use Questionnaire and the Subjective Well-Being Scale. Analysis of the structural equation model revealed that anxiety partially mediated the relationship between social support and subjective well-being of postgraduate medical students, while alcohol and tobacco use moderated the relationship between anxiety and subjective well-being of postgraduate medical students. This study revealed how social support act upon subjective well-being of postgraduate medical students. This study provides a theoretical basis for promoting and enhancing the subjective well-being of postgraduate medical students.

Alcohol Use Disorders among Slovak and Czech University Students: A Closer Look at Tobacco Use, Cannabis Use and Socio-Demographic Characteristics

The main objective of the research was to examine the associations between problematic alcohol use, tobacco use and cannabis use among Czech and Slovak university students during the early COVID-19 pandemic. The research sample consisted of 1422 participants from the Czech Republic (CZ) and 1677 from the Slovak Republic (SK). The analyses included university students who drank alcohol in the past year (CZ: 1323 (93%); SK: 1526 (91%)). Regarding the analysed measures, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and its subscales, the Glover-Nilsson Smoking Behavioral Questionnaire (GN-SBQ) and the Cannabis Abuse Screening Test (CAST) were selected to identify substance-related behaviour. Age, gender and residence were included in the analyses as socio-demographic variables. Correlation and regression analyses were used to achieve the main objective of the research. The main results revealed that the use of tobacco and cannabis were positively associated with alcohol use disorders among Czech and Slovak university students. Additionally, males were more likely to report alcohol use disorders. In the Czech Republic, it was found that students living in dormitories were characterized by a lower AUDIT score. The opposite situation was found in the Slovak Republic. Czech and Slovak policy-makers are encouraged to develop alcohol use prevention programs for university students in line with these findings.

Hazardous drinking is associated with hypnotic consumption in medical students in the BOURBON nationwide study: psychological factors explored

France has been identified with one of the highest rates of hazardous drinking and hypnotic consumption in Western countries. Medical students have been identified at risk for hazardous drinking yet we lacked of national data on their hypnotic consumption and associated factors to guide public health policies. To determine the prevalence of hazardous drinking and dependence among French medical students and their association with psychotropic drug consumption and psychosocial factors. Medical students were recruited from 35 French universities of medicine through administration mailing lists and social networks, between December 13, 2016 and May 15, 2017. Hazardous drinking was defined by an Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) score ≥ 7 for men and ≥ 6 for women. 10,985 medical students with a mean aged of 21.8 years (± 3.3) were included, 32% of which were male. Overall, 3713 (34%) students reported hazardous drinking (41% for men vs. 31% for women) and 820 participants (8%) reported alcohol dependence (12% for men vs. 6% for women). In multivariate analyses, hazardous drinking was independently associated with age, male gender, hypnotic consumption, psychiatric follow-up, mourning, parents divorce, exposure to sexual and physical assault. Alcohol dependence was associated with male gender, tobacco and cannabis consumption, and sexual and physical assault. Second year was reported as the year at higher risk for increased alcohol consumption vs. decreased risk in first and fourth year. Hazardous drinking identified in one third of medical students is associated with hypnotic consumption and some psychological factors suggesting self-medication behavior that could be targeted by psychological interventions.

Prevalence and associated factors of cannabis consumption in medical students: the BOURBON nationwide study

France has been identified with one of the highest rates of cannabis consumption of Western European countries. Yet we lack data in medical students who are at risk of addictive behavior. The objective of the study is to determine the prevalence of cannabis consumption and cannabis use disorder (CUD) among French medical students and their association with psychotropic drug consumption and psychosocial factors. Medical students were recruited from 35 French universities of medicine through administration mailing lists and social networks, between December 2016 and May 2017. Cannabis consumption was self-declared by anonymous questionnaire and CUD was defined by a Cannabis Abuse Screening Test (CAST) score ≥ 3. 10,985 medical students with a mean age of 21.8 years (± 3.3) were included, 32% of which were men. Overall, 1642 [14.9 (14.3; 15.6)%] reported cannabis consumption and 622 [5.7 (5.2; 6.1)%] students were identified with CUD at screening. Men were at two-time higher risk of cannabis consumption and three-time higher risk of CUD (22.4% and 10.6% for men vs. 11.5% and 3.4%, respectively, for women). In multivariate analyses, men sex, alcohol use disorder, tobacco smoking, parents' divorce, and history of physical assault and lower rates of lower rates of ≥ 40 weekly worked hours were identified as common associated factors for cannabis consumption and CUD. Hypnotic consumption, psychiatric follow-up, and history of sexual assault were identified as factors associated specifically with CUD, suggesting that these factors were associated with more severe cannabis consumption. Only 17% of students identified with CUD reported a psychiatric follow-up. Altogether, these results suggest that health policies should target cannabis consumption in medical students that is frequent, especially in men, with low rates of psychiatric follow-up. We have identified psychological factors and increased hypnotic drug consumption in CUD participants suggesting that psychiatric follow-up should be systematically proposed to this group.

Determinants of Alcohol Consumption among Medical Students: Results from POLLEK Cohort Study

Background: The use of alcohol is a serious public health concern all over the world, especially among young people, including students. Medical students are often exposed to higher levels of distress, which may lead to a higher prevalence of psychoactive substance use and psychiatric co-morbidities. Alcohol abuse can be one of the detrimental methods of coping with distress. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of alcohol use among medical students in Poland. Methods: We analyzed data from the POLLEK cohort study on alcohol consumption and possible influencing factors. Results: Among the 540 students included, 167 (30.9%) were hazardous drinkers (HAZ) according to the AUDIT test. The main identified risk factors of hazardous/harmful drinking were male gender and smoking cigarettes. Conclusions: Given the fairly widespread alcohol abuse among medical students, it is necessary to implement screening (and intervention in the next stage) programs in these groups.

[Cigarette and e-cigarette use among a sample of French health students]

INTRODUCTION

Smoking is one of the leading causes of preventable death worldwide. Data from the literature show that caregivers and health students have a high prevalence. The purpose of this article was to study the prevalence among health students (medicine, dentistry, physiotherapy, nursing) at a University and a Teaching Hospital in France.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

This was a cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire completed at the start of university meetings. This study was carried out as part of a campaign to combat smoking supported by the Brittany Regional Health Agency.

RESULTS

The participation rate was 76.4%: 1349 respondents out of 1766 health students surveyed. The prevalence of smoking 17.8% and that of vaping 5.6%. Nursing students smoked and vaped more than students in other streams: respectively, for smoking, 21.8% (73/335) vs. 16.5% (167/1014) (P<0.001), for vaping, 10.4% (35/335) vs. 4.0% (39/980) (P<0.001). Students in 3rd year nursing smoked and vaped significantly more than those in the first 2 years (P=0.02 and P<0.001).

CONCLUSION

The smoking rate was high, but comparable to the data for health students. Nursing students were significantly greater smokers, especially in the last year. Their vaping rate was higher than in other studies.

Alcohol consumption among French physicians: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Data regarding French physicians' alcohol behaviours are scarce and most studies address this issue within the population of either medical students or residents. We aim to describe and assess the prevalence of hazardous alcohol consumption among French physicians.

METHODS

A regional, cross-sectional, survey was conducted in 2018 using an online questionnaire among Parisian general practitioners and hospital doctors. Hazardous alcohol consumption was defined by an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) score ≥ 8. Data were analysed in 2020.

RESULTS

Five hundred fifteen physicians completed the survey: 108 general practitioners and 407 hospital physicians. The median age was 40 years [32-55] and 59 % were women. They considered their physical and mental health as average or bad in 10 % and 8% of cases, respectively. The prevalence of hazardous alcohol consumption was 12.6 %. Among the 65 physicians with hazardous alcohol consumption, 27 (41.5 %) did not considered it as risky and four (6.2 %) mentioned a potentially negative impact on patients' care. Factors independently associated with hazardous alcohol consumption were illegal drugs consumption (OR 4.62 [2.05-10.37]) and fixed term contract for hospital doctors (OR 2.69 [1.14-6.36]).

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of hazardous alcohol consumption among French physicians was 12.6 %. Illegal substance users and fix-termed contract hospital doctors were more likely to have risky alcohol consumption. A large-scale national study would confirm the factors associated with hazardous alcohol consumption and could explore the efficacy of preventive measures to insure the safety and health of physicians and their patients.

Oral Health Attitudes among Preclinical and Clinical Dental Students: A Pilot Study and Self-Assessment in an Egyptian State-Funded University

Dentists should present to patients as good role models in their oral health behaviour. Previous studies have demonstrated how education can improve dental students’ oral health. This pilot investigation aimed to compare and evaluate the features of the oral health behaviour and attitudes of preclinical and clinical dental students at Ain Shams University, a public Egyptian university. The Hiroshima University-Dental Behaviour Inventory (HU-DBI) survey was provided to 149 (78 female/71 male) dental students. Dichotomised (agree/disagree) answers to 20 HU-DBI items were possible, with a maximum conceivable score of 19. An estimation of oral health behaviour and attitudes was calculated by the sum of correct oral health answers to every item by the study groups and evaluated statistically. The score of oral health-favouring answers was higher in clinical (11.50) than preclinical students (10.63) and was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Single-item evaluations showed no statistical significance, except in one survey item. This survey exhibited weak differences in the improvement of oral hygiene behaviour and attitudes between participating preclinical and clinical students, as well as overall poor oral health behaviour in both groups. This inadequacy of Egyptian public dental education in terms of sufficient student oral health progress emphasises the necessity for supplementary courses and curricular reviews that accentuate the need for future dentists to display the correct oral health behaviour.

How to Cope with the Challenges of Medical Education? Stress, Depression, and Coping in Undergraduate Medical Students

OBJECTIVES

Up to 90% of medical students experience stress. Studies have observed a relationship between stress and depression. Coping strategies to deal with stress and depression are of great interest. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of stress and depression and the efficacy of coping strategies in undergraduate medical students.

METHODS

This survey was conducted with 589 second-year and sixth-year students in 2017 at the Medical University of Vienna. The questionnaire included a stress and coping questionnaire, depression screening, substance use questionnaire, and questionnaire concerning leisure time activities.

RESULTS

The coping strategies were included in a regression model to assess their predictive value for stress and depression screening scores. The most common stressor was performance pressure overload (92.1%). Overall, 52.4% of the participating students reached critical scores in the depression screening. Positive thinking and active coping were associated with lower stress scores. Positive thinking also was a protective factor against depressive symptoms. Less than 2% of all students reached high-risk values for substance use.

CONCLUSION

Accessible counseling for students in need of psychological care should be provided. Different interventions of positive psychology showed a positive impact on depression screening scores.

Affective Temperament Traits and Age-Predicted Recreational Cannabis Use in Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

The use of cannabis among college students is increasing. Cannabis abuse has been proposed to be associated with personality dimensions. However, there are currently no known studies on the relationship of temperament traits and recreational cannabis use among college students. This is a cross-sectional study that investigated 328 students at a Podiatric Medical College. We evaluated the association between temperament and recreational cannabis use by the students. Temperament was investigated using the Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego Auto- Questionnaire (TEMPS-A (short version)). Additionally, we assessed demographics variables and perceived stress in the context of cannabis use, and analyzed the findings using logistic regression. The prevalence of recreational cannabis use was 8.45%. Recreational cannabis use among these students was highly associated with irritable and cyclothymic temperament traits. There was no association between recreational cannabis use and perceived stress, and demographic variables or other substance use. Furthermore, logistic regression analysis indicated that higher scores in cyclothymic or irritable temperament traits are significant predictors for recreational cannabis use. Our study has identified key temperament traits, with a strong association with recreational use of cannabis of the studied student population. Our findings are useful in designing screening and educational strategies directed towards increasing the wellbeing of medical students.

Patterns of Alcohol Consumption and Drinking Motives Among Korean Medical Students

Background

Physicians who have healthy lifestyles can provide quality healthcare to their patients and keep themselves healthy. There is little data on the prevalence of drinking behaviors and problems among East Asian medical students. Here, we explored alcohol use and drinking motives among medical students in Korea.

Material/Methods

A questionnaire-based, multicenter, cross-sectional study was carried out in 323 students from 5 medical colleges in Korea between July and October 2016. We used the Korean version of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire that included demographic characteristics, smoking status, consumption of alcohol, and drinking motives.

Results

The mean AUDIT score was 9.8±7.5 for males and 6.3±5.4 for females. Heavy drinking (75.9%) and binge drinking (56.0%) were very high among Korean medical students. Female medical students drank as much as male students, and much more than other women. The probability that a student would be a binge drinker was 2.72 times higher for a smoker than a non-smoker. The scores for drinking frequency, alcohol intake at one time, heavy drinking, binge drinking, and alcohol dependence symptoms were highest in the group who had “enhancement drinking motives”.

Conclusions

Heavy drinking and binge drinking are common among both male and female medical students in Korea and this behavior is associated with smoking and enhancement drinking motives. Medical schools should consider implementing effective interventions to prevent and reduce problem drinking among medical students.

First-year French medical students consume antidepressants and anxiolytics while second-years consume non-medical drugs

BACKGROUND

First year exams are a major source of stress amongst first-year medical students.

OBJECTIVE

To explore antidepressant and anxiolytic consumption and addictive behavior of medical students before and after exams.

METHODS

Medical students of the 35 French medical schools were recruited through mailing lists and social networks between December 2016 and May 2017 and completed online Internet anonymized questionnaires.

RESULTS

Overall, 4345 medical students were included (3051 first year vs. 1294 second year). In multivariate analyses, compared to those in the first year of medicine, second year students were found to have lower anxiolytic (adjusted odd ratio (aOR)=0.56, p = 0.01) and antidepressant consumption (aOR=0.21, p<0.0001) but higher psychiatric follow-up (aOR=1.95, p<0.0001) after adjustment for age, gender and relationship status. Whilst second year students reported slightly higher quality of life (especially for mental health), they also reported more daily tobacco smoking (aOR=1.78, p<0.0001), more cannabis use disorders (aOR=2.37, p<0.0001), hazardous drinking (aOR=3.61, p<0.0001), and alcohol dependence (aOR=3.66, p<0.0001). Second year medical students reported fewer difficulties relating to studying in comparison to first year students (aOR=0.60, p<0.0001) yet they reported a higher rate of recreational drugs use with a variety of reasons including self-treatment of anxiety; disinhibition and to copy their peers (all p<0.05).

LIMITS

These results should be confirmed by longitudinal studies.

CONCLUSION

First year medical students who are faced with challenges relating to studying consume more antidepressants and anxiolytics, whilst second year students have a higher consumption of recreational drugs for a range of reasons. This suggests that the first two years at medical school are an important contributor to adverse mental health and therefore present a window of opportunity for preventative intervention.

Who attempts suicide among medical students?

OBJECTIVE

To identify factors associated with a history of suicide attempt in medical students.

METHODS

A Web-based survey was sent out to a sample of medical students. A multi-predictor Poisson regression was performed to identify factors associated with a history of suicide attempt. In addition, an elastic net regularization was used to build a risk calculator to identify students at risk for attempted suicide.

RESULTS

A total of 4,840 participants were included in the study. Prevalence of suicide attempts in the sample was 8.94%. Risk factors associated with past suicide attempt in the multi-predictor Poisson regression were as follows: female gender (P < 0.001); homosexuality (P < 0.001); low income (P = 0.026); bullying by university peers (P = 0.006); childhood (P = 0.001) or adult (P = 0.001) trauma; family history of suicide (P = 0.005); suicidal ideation within the last month (P < 0.001); daily tobacco use (P = 0.037); and being at severe risk for alcohol abuse (P = 0.023). Our elastic net model performed well with an AUC of 0.83.

CONCLUSIONS

This study identifies a number of key factors associated with a history of suicide attempts among medical students. Future longitudinal studies should assess the causal relationship between these factors and suicide attempts. Additionally, these results demonstrate that current available data on suicide attempts among medical students can be used to develop an accurate risk algorithm.

Anxiolytic consumption is associated with tobacco smoking and severe nicotine dependence. Results from the national French medical students (BOURBON) study

Tobacco smoking remains common among medical students, something which may impact on their abililty to promote smoking cessation during their future careers.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the prevalence of smoking and consumption among French medical students and explore the link between both the presence of psychosocial factors and consumption of psychotropic medication and the severity of nicotine dependence and daily smoking behavior.

METHODS

Medical students were recruited from 35 French universities of medicine through administration mailing lists and social networks, between December 13, 2016 and May 15, 2017. Data was collected via anonymized Internet questionnaire which included questions regarding current daily tobacco smoking behaviors. Severe nicotine dependence was defined by a short Fagerström test equal or >4.

RESULTS

10,985 medical students with a mean aged of 21.8 years (+/-3.3) were included, 31.6% of which were male. 2078 (18.9%) were identified as current daily tobacco smokers and 59 (2.8%) were classed as having severe nicotine dependence. In multivariate analyses, tobacco smoking was independently associated with anxiolytic consumption, alcohol use disorder, cannabis use disorder, financial difficulties, and history of sexual and physical assault. Severe nicotine dependence was independently associated with anxiolytic consumption, cannabis use disorder, domestic violence, physical assault and financial difficulties.

CONCLUSION

Tobacco smoking has been found in almost one on 5 medical students and is associated with anxiolytic consumption as well as professional and personal factors.

Prevalence of Cannabis Use Among Medical Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

Cannabis is reported to be the most common illicit substance used among medical students; however, the number of related studies is limited and their results are not systematically reviewed. The aim of our study was to analyze the prevalence of lifetime and current use of cannabis among medical students worldwide.

METHODS

A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed with adherence to the PRISMA guidelines. The electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane library were searched for studies on the prevalence of cannabis use among medical students. Prevalence of lifetime, past-year, and past-month cannabis use was extracted. Pooled prevalence and relative risk for sex were calculated using the random effects model and subgroup analyses were conducted.

RESULTS

A total of 38 observational (cross-sectional and cohort) studies were included (total number of participants 19 932), and most of them were conducted in Europe, Central and Southern America, and the United States. Overall pooled prevalence of lifetime cannabis use was 31.4% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 23.7%-39.6%), past-year use was 17.2% (95% CI: 10.8%-24.6%), and past-month use was 8.8% (95% CI: 5.6%-12.5%). Men displayed higher rates of cannabis use with a pooled relative risk of 1.55 (95% CI: 1.32-1.81). Heterogeneity was high (I 2 > 75%) and there were differences among continents in all outcomes (P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, 1 in 3 medical students has used cannabis, whereas 8.8% were current users. Significant differences among continents were observed, but common finding was that male students tend to consume cannabis more often than female students.

Use of Psychotropic Medications and Illegal Drugs, and Related Consequences Among French Pharmacy Students - SCEP Study: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The use of psychotropic medications and illegal drugs is a worldwide public health issue, leading to addiction, psychiatric and somatic disorders, and death. Pharmacy students are more exposed to psychotropic medications than other students (non-medical), which could lead to an overuse. The main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of psychotropic drug use (medications and illegal drugs) by French pharmacy students, by carrying out a nationwide cross-sectional study. The relation of these medications and illegal drug use with several comorbidities and academic achievement was also assessed.

Methods: This online survey was performed by emails sent to all French pharmacy faculties over a period of 66 days (March 16, 2016 to May 20, 2016). The survey assessed the prevalence of uses of psychotropic medications and illegal drugs during the last 3 months. These uses were compared to student characteristics (personal and university) and comorbidities (anxiety, depression, stress, and fatigue).

Results: Of the 2,609 questionnaires received, 2,575 were completed and useable for the analysis. Among French pharmacy students and during the 3 last months, 9.4% have used psychotropic medications, 21.5% illegal drugs and 3.3% both psychotropic medications and illegal drugs. Psychotropic medications were used in the cases of a medical prescription (49.0%), a self-medication (42.4%) or a non-medical intent (26.3%). Stress scores of the last 7 days were higher for psychotropic medication users compared to non-users and illegal drug users. Proportions of anxiety and depression at the time of answer were higher for psychotropic medication users than for non-users and illegal drug users. Fatigue scores of the last 7 days were lower for illegal drug users compared to non-users and self-medicated students. Annual average marks of the last year, attendance and perception of study difficulty were lower for illegal drug users than for non-users.

Conclusion: French pharmacy students were less exposed to psychotropic medications and illegal drugs than the general French population. However, in comparison to other students in other countries, the use of psychotropic medications seemed to be lower, but with a proportionally higher use of anxiety/sedative medications and a lower use of opioid medications.

Gender differences in substance use and psychiatric distress among medical students: A comprehensive statewide evaluation

BACKGROUND

Medical student wellness has emerged as an important issue in medical education. The purpose of the present study was to obtain a comprehensive assessment of substance use, psychological distress, and help-seeking among male and female medical students in order to identify targets for continued intervention efforts.

METHODS

Medical students from all 9 medical schools in the state of Florida were invited via e-mail and/or announcements to complete an anonymous online questionnaire assessing their well-being. Of 5053 matriculating medical students, 1137 (57.1% female) responded to the questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, t tests, and chi-square analyses were computed using SPSS 20.

RESULTS

Over 70% of students acknowledged binge drinking, with men reporting higher frequency than women (χ² = 13.90, P = .003), and 22.7% (n = 201) reported marijuana use during medical school, with higher rates (χ² = 9.50, P = .02) among men (27.0%, n = 99) than women (18.9%, n = 93). A significant minority of students reported nonmedical use of prescription stimulants and prescription opioids. In addition, 3.3% of male students (n = 12) compared with 0.6% of female students (n = 3) reported problematic drug use. Further, almost 2/3 of respondents reported decreased psychological health since beginning medical school, with women noting greater reductions (χ² = 12.39, P = .05) and higher levels of stress (χ² = 16.30, P = .003). Over 10% of students (n = 102) endorsed "thoughts of committing suicide" during medical school, and 70.1% felt they would benefit from mental healthcare (79.3% of women vs. 59.6% of men; χ² = 41.94, P < .001), although only 39.8% accessed help.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite efforts to address medical student wellness, students continue to report concerning levels of psychological distress, suicidal ideation, and substance use. More work is needed to effectively address medical student mental health and well-being.

Uživanje alkohola med študenti zdravstvene nege

Uvod: Pitje alkoholnih pijač je med mladostniki v Sloveniji in tudi drugod po svetu zelo velik problem. Največ mladih pije alkoholne pijače predvsem v obdobju adolescence. Namen raziskave je bil predstaviti uživanje alkohola med študenti zdravstvene nege, ki je tudi sicer vse pogostejši problem v sodobnem načinu življenja. Metode: Anketiranje je potekalo v prvi polovici leta 2015 med študenti rednega študija zdravstvene nege 1. stopnje. V raziskavi je sodelovalo 217 študentov. Uporabljeno je bilo priložnostno vzorčenje. Uporabili smo osnovno deskriptivno statistiko in kvantitativno raziskovalno metodologijo s pomočjo strukturiranega vprašalnika. Rezultati: Med anketiranimi se je v izbiri najpogostejših alkoholnih pijač pokazala statistično pomembna razlika (p = 0,000) glede na spol, saj moški posegajo bolj po pivu, ženske bolj po žganih pijačah. Prav tako je razlika po spolu prisotna v opitosti, saj so bili moški v zadnjih 30 dneh pred anketiranjem statistično značilno bolj pogosto opiti kot ženske (p = 0,000). Diskusija in zaključek: Iz rezultatov raziskave je razvidno, da več kot polovica anketiranih študentov zdravstvene nege tvegano pije alkoholne pijače. Raziskava nakazuje, da bolj tvegano pijejo študenti moškega spola. Pridobljeni podatki nakazujejo potrebo po obsežnejši raziskavi o uživanju alkohola med slovenskimi študenti.

[Hazardous drinking in Parisian medical students]

OBJECTIVES

Binge drinking is widespread in medical students but is poorly studied in France. The aim was to evaluate the number of binge drinking episodes and to better characterize them among a sample of French medical students.

METHODS

We carried out a cross-sectional study at Paris VII's Faculty of Medicine. Through a brief self-questionnaire we focused on the prevalence rate of binge drinking in the past two weeks and examined the associations between hazardous drinking and the number of drinks consumed, demographic data (gender, age, familial status and student fraternity membership), clinical aspects (context, intended effects and adverse consequences), tobacco or illegal substances use, and eventual relationship with alcohol or tobacco use disorders.

RESULTS

Among 302 medical students, 74.8% of them experienced at least one binge-drinking episode in the last two weeks. There was no significant difference in demographic data. However, the association between binge drinking and to living alone was borderline significant (P=0.051). Students experienced on mean 2.4 (SD, 1.6) episodes in the last two weeks and their mean maximum number of drinks was equal to 10.3 (SD, 4.6). We observed a significant association between the number binge drinking episodes and the mean maximum consumption of alcohol drinks (P=0.004). The maximum quantity of alcohol drinks was significantly higher (P<0.001) in students who experienced two binge-drinking episodes (mean=11.23, SD=4.56), compared to those who experienced only one episode (mean=9.04, SD=3.96). Binge drinkers were more likely to consume alcohol at a party than at a friendly drink (P=0.029) and more frequently sought drunkenness (P<0.001) and to escape from daily concerns (P=0.004). They experienced more negative events like black-outs (P<0.001), aggressive behaviors (P=0.002), drunk driving (P=0.025), unsafe sexual relationships (P=0.010) and need of emergency responders (P=0.047). Binge drinkers were more likely to simultaneously consume tobacco (P<0.001) or illegal substances (P<0.001), and presented more alcohol use disorder (P<0.001) and tobacco-dependence (P=0.007).

CONCLUSIONS

This first French study in 302 medical students has highlighted the extent of binge drinking in this specific population. The threshold of two binge-drinking episodes in two weeks may be useful to identify a distinctive pattern of consumption and set up adequate prevention actions. Finally binge drinking seemed to be close to an addictive process. Our findings support the need to develop targeted prevention programs in French medical students, which could be designed around several interventions in campuses and student parties. Cohort studies could be necessary to provide an epidemiological follow-up of the French medical student population, particularly about the risk of alcohol use disorder.