<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> Background. Hazardous and harmful alcohol drinking is an important health, social and economic issue in Slovenia amongst all age groups. While drinking in Slovenia has been well researched amongst elementary and high school students, there is a lack of research on drinking amongst university students.Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional study among first- and fourth-year students of the University of Maribor, Slovenia, attending the mandatory preventive health check between October 2009 and May 2010. During this health check, they filled in a non-anonymous lifestyle questionnaire. AUDIT-C questionnaire on alcohol use and questions on smoking and illicit drug use were also included.Results. 3.130 students were included in the analysis, 1219 (38.9%) were males. There were 871 (27.8%) students that were screened as risky drinkers. The highest percentage of risky drinkers attended the Faculty for Wood Technology and the lowest the Faculty for Health Sciences. Students, recognized as healthier by the physicians, reported risky drinking significantly less often (p=0.015). Students with higher BMI reported risky drinking significantly more often (p=0.012). Variables, proved to be independently associated with the risky drinking in the multivariate analysis, were: bad health status (p=0.044), male sex (p&lt;0.001), daily consumption of fried food (p=0.017), smoking (p&lt;0.001), illicit drugs (p&lt;0.001), attending the Faculty for Civil Engineering (p=0.006), not attending the Faculty for Health Sciences (p=0.002)Conclusions. While the prevalence of risky drinking among students in this study is high, a structured preventive programme should be implemented for students,which will include also illicit drug use and smoking.</abstract>

Background. Hazardous and harmful alcohol drinking is an important health, social and economic issue in Slovenia amongst all age groups. While drinking in Slovenia has been well researched amongst elementary and high school students, there is a lack of research on drinking amongst university students.Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional study among first- and fourth-year students of the University of Maribor, Slovenia, attending the mandatory preventive health check between October 2009 and May 2010. During this health check, they filled in a non-anonymous lifestyle questionnaire. AUDIT-C questionnaire on alcohol use and questions on smoking and illicit drug use were also included.Results. 3.130 students were included in the analysis, 1219 (38.9%) were males. There were 871 (27.8%) students that were screened as risky drinkers. The highest percentage of risky drinkers attended the Faculty for Wood Technology and the lowest the Faculty for Health Sciences. Students, recognized as healthier by the physicians, reported risky drinking significantly less often (p=0.015). Students with higher BMI reported risky drinking significantly more often (p=0.012). Variables, proved to be independently associated with the risky drinking in the multivariate analysis, were: bad health status (p=0.044), male sex (p<0.001), daily consumption of fried food (p=0.017), smoking (p<0.001), illicit drugs (p<0.001), attending the Faculty for Civil Engineering (p=0.006), not attending the Faculty for Health Sciences (p=0.002)Conclusions. While the prevalence of risky drinking among students in this study is high, a structured preventive programme should be implemented for students,which will include also illicit drug use and smoking.

Alcohol Drinking Among the Students of the University of Maribor, Slovenia

University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, Poljanski nasip 58, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

University of Maribor, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, Taborska ul. 8, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia

Slovenian Journal of Public Health

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Alcohol Drinking Among the Students of the University of Maribor, Slovenia"}

Background. Hazardous and harmful alcohol drinking is an important health, social and economic issue in Slovenia amongst all age groups. While drinking in...

Alcohol Drinking Among the Students of the University of Maribor, Slovenia

Published Online: Sep 25, 2015

Page range: 259 - 266

Received: Dec 10, 2014

Accepted: Apr 23, 2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/sjph-2015-0034

Keywords
university students, risky alcohol drinking, binge drinking

© National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Alcohol Drinking Among the Students of the University of Maribor, Slovenia

Published Online: Sep 25, 2015

Page range: 259 - 266

Received: Dec 10, 2014

Accepted: Apr 23, 2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/sjph-2015-0034

Keywordsuniversity students, risky alcohol drinking, binge drinking

© National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
university students, risky alcohol drinking, binge drinking