PREVALENCE AND ANALYSIS OF THE CORRELATION BETWEEN ALCOHOL USE AND E-CIGARETTES AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS

Abstract

Alcohol and e-cigarette consumption among medical students has raised growing concerns due to their detrimental effects on physical and mental health and impacts on academic outcomes. For this purpose, this cross-sectional observational study was carried out to investigate the prevalence and correlation mentioned above among students of a University of Medicine in the Baixada Fluminense. A total of 389 questionnaires were obtained, with a prevalence of alcohol use and alcohol and e-cigarette use of 78.1% and 10.1%, respectively. A significant correlation was identified between the use of both substances and an OR of 12.321 (95% CI) p-Value 0.0003. In addition, 17% of students are at high risk of alcohol dependence, according to the AUDIT score. Still, the findings suggest that students are more likely to use alcohol with course progression due to academic stress. Thus, preventive and educational measures are recommended to improve the quality of life of students and protect them from risky behaviors.