Alcohol Consumption and its Predictors among Medical Sciences Students in the Southeast of Iran

AbstractBackground: There is increasing concern about the use of alcohol by medical science students in the world. This study aimed toassess the frequency and related factors of alcohol consumption among Kerman University of Medical Sciences students.Methods: This cross-sectional survey was carried out in ۲۰۲۰ on students from the Kerman University of Medical Sciences usingthe Quota sampling method. A valid and reliable questionnaire was used in this study, which included alcohol use frequency,sociodemographic characteristics, and alcohol use behaviors. Data were analyzed using SPSS version ۲۶, which used multiplelogistic regression analysis.Results: Lifetime, last-year, and last-month prevalence of alcohol use was ۴۱.۱۵%, ۳۷.۶۱%, and ۱۵.۹۱%, respectively. Wefound a significant association between older age (OR = ۱.۶۱, P < ۰.۰۰۱), male gender (OR = ۳.۱۲, P = ۰.۰۰۱), single marital status(OR = ۵.۰۷, P = ۰.۰۰۱), living in a dormitory (OR = ۲.۹۷, P = ۰.۰۲۵), non-governmental father’s job (OR = ۳.۵۷, P = ۰.۰۰۸), mother’seducation level of ۱۳ – ۱۶ year (OR = ۶.۶۹, P = ۰.۰۱۳) and less than ۱۳ years (OR = ۶.۲۷, P = ۰.۰۱۳), and high socioeconomicstatus (OR = ۲.۳۸, P = ۰.۰۱۹) with lifetime alcohol use.Conclusion: The prevalence of alcohol use among medical sciences students was high in this study, and alcohol use preventionprograms should be designed and implemented for at-risk groups, including older students, male students, those living indormitories, single students, good socioeconomic status, students with non-governmental father’s job and mothers’ low-leveleducation.

Keywords:

alcohol use , Prevalence , Behavior , Related factors