Alcohol and drug use in second-year medical students at the University of Leeds

Abstract

86% of the students drank alcohol and among those who drank, a high proportion (52.6% of the men and 50.6% of the women), exceeded the recommended weekly limit of alcohol consumption of 21 units for men and 14 units women per week). Illicit drug use was reported by 33.1% of students (28.3% of men, 35.6% of women). The drug most commonly used was cannabis. According to the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale, 41.2% of the students (37% of men, 43.3% of women) had anxiety ratings within the clinically significant range (HAD scale> 8); 9.5% of students demonstrated clinically significant levels of depression (HAD scale> 8). However, these high levels of anxiety and depression did not correlate with high levels of alcohol consumption or drug use.

Behaviour-based functional and dysfunctional strategies of medical students to cope with burnout

“…Students who chose this functional coping strategy preferred less dysfunctional strategies such as alcohol and drugs. Alcohol and drug abuse among practicing physicians [49,50] and medical students [51–53] is supported by literature. Up to 20% of medical students have reported excessive alcohol consumption [54–56].…”

“…The use of illicit drugs by medical students is similar to that of age-related peers, and studies indicate that students who use these drugs had started using them before they entered medical school [57,52,58]. Pickard and colleagues [53] found a higher risk of alcohol consumption among Leeds medical students than among the age-matched population. 53% of men and 51% of women regularly exceeded the recommended amount of alcohol per week, while in a sample population in the 18–24 age group only 41% exceeded the safe limit indicated by the WHO.…”

Prevalência do consumo de álcool, tabaco e entorpecentes por estudantes de medicina da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

“…dIscussIon Alcohol, tobacco, and psychotropic drug use is a worldwide health problem, which has prompted a wealth of studies on the issue. University students 19,20 , including medical students, are affected by substance use [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]21 . In researching the issue, one must take particular care to avoid generalizing data analyzed from a preconceived standpoint, particularly in light of cultural, political, and social stances towards psychotropic substance use [22][23][24] .…”

“…Due to their knowledge of and ease of access to various drugs, physicians and medical students have been assessed as a possible target of substance abuse [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] . The high rate of psychotropic drug use among physicians is a well established fact 2 .…”

A comparison of alcohol and drug use among dental undergraduates and a group of non-medical, professional undergraduates

“…Surveys of medical students have been more prevalent over the last 20 years and give similar cause for concern. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] The effects of excessive alcohol intake and use of illicit drugs have obvious potential consequences for the careers of dentists. Recent studies have shown that, following graduation, alcohol and drug habits either remain high, 7 or decrease, but remain 'at a level where personal harm is possible' .…”