Health vulnerabilities: the diagnosis of freshmen from a portuguese university

Factors associated with alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use among Brazilian undergraduate students

OBJECTIVES

to analyze the factors associated with the use of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs among Brazilian undergraduate students.

METHODS

observational, cross-sectional study, with convenience sampling, conducted in 2014/2015, involving institutional data and a self-completed online questionnaire, analyzed using measures of frequency, central tendency/dispersion and logistic regression.

RESULTS

among 126,326 students, 62.8% reported alcohol use; 11%, tobacco; and 7.5%, illicit drugs. Several academic factors-such as not residing with family (sororities [alcohol: aOR:2.38;95%CI:2.28-2.48; tobacco: AOR:2.20;95%CI:2.09-2.33; illicit drugs: AOR:2.53;95%CI:2.38-2.70]), acting in university movements (student [alcohol: AOR:1.74;95%CI:1.65-1.83; tobacco: AOR:1.97;95%CI:1.86-2.08; illicit drugs: AOR:2.43;95%CI:2.28-2.59] and religious [alcohol: AOR:0.28;95%CI:0.26-0.29; tobacco: AOR:0.23;95%CI:0.21-0.26; illicit drugs: AOR:0.18;95%CI:0.16-0.21]) and lack of discipline/study habit (alcohol: AOR:1.41;95%CI:1.37-1.45; tobacco: AOR:1.53;95%CI:1.46-1.59; illicit drugs: AOR:1.85;95%CI:1.76-1.94) - were associated with the use of the three categories of substances.

CONCLUSIONS

we identified that a number of academic factors are associated with licit and illicit drug use. These findings may help in designing preventive strategies among college students.

Smoking behavior and secondhand smoke exposure among university students in northern Portugal: Relations with knowledge on tobacco use and attitudes toward smoking

OBJECTIVES

To assess the prevalence of active smoking and secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure among college students in the north of Portugal, and analyze the relationship between knowledge about tobacco use and attitudes toward smoking.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This a cross-sectional study with a representative sample of college students (n=840) in one university in Portugal. A validated self-reported questionnaire was administered to a proportional stratified random sample during the academic year of 2018/2019. We evaluated associations between smoking status, SHS exposure, smokers peers, knowledge and attitudes toward smoking and sociodemographic variables.

RESULTS

The results showed that 20.1% of the students surveyed were current smokers (7.3% occasional smokers, 2.9% regular smokers and 9.9% daily smokers). Most current smokers started smoking before the age of 17 (61.4%) and reported never having tried to quit smoking (59.7%). Only 34.4% of students reported (almost) not having been in enclosed spaces with smokers in the past 7 days. Exposure to SHS and having smoker friends contributes to the prevalence of tobacco use. In general, students showed favorable attitudes toward smoking, especially those who are smokers, have smoking friends and are more exposed to SHS. The level of knowledge about tobacco was moderate, with a higher number of correct responses by former smokers.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggests an urgent need for socio-educational programs for counseling on smoking cessation. In addition, is also strongly recommended that, throughout academic training, students develop personal and social skills for dealing with the tobacco epidemic.