Alcohol, tobacco consumption and sociodemographic features associated in college students

Abstract

College students are highly vulnerable to the adoption of habits that pose risks to their health, including smoking and alcohol consumption which have an impact on the occurrence of chronic diseases. Therefore, preliminary information that allows to identify the factors associated with these habits is required for the planning of intervention strategies from the university context. Objective: To identify associations between alcohol consumption, smoking and demographic features in a group of college students. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was used with a sample of 360 men and 456 women (obtained by stratified random sampling). A survey was applied to them in order to establish alcohol consumption, tobacco use and demographic features. The data collection was carried out under the supervision and approval of the Ethics Committee of the University of Pamplona. The data analysis included frequency distribution in relation to smoking, alcohol consumption and other factors, and V Cramer test to establish association between variables. Results: The prevalence of tobacco is 15% and frequent alcohol consumption prevalence is 26%. Association between gender and alcohol consumption (p<0,001) and tobacco use (p<0,001) was found, where men are the most consumers. Besides, association between faculty and alcohol consumption (p=0,018) and tobacco use (p<0,001) was found. Conclusions: Tobacco and alcohol consumption was low in relation to prior studies. The variables of gender and faculty are associated to tobacco use and alcohol consumption. It is necessary to implement programs to prevent and decrease tobacco use and alcohol consumption in college students.