Consumo de álcool entre estudantes universitários Alcohol consumption by university students

Abstract Consumption of alcoholic beverages is widely encouraged by the mass media, despite the re-lated health risks. Today’s students in the health fields are the professionals of tomorrow who will be providing advice and serving as role models for patients. The aim of this study was to analyze alcohol consumption and related factors among these students. A total of 608 male and female university students from Maceio, the capital of Alagoas State, Brazil, completed a self-adminis-tered questionnaire. Data analysis included Pois-son regression and multinomial logistic models. Prevalence of lifetime use of alcohol was 90.4%. Prevalence of alcohol abuse was 18.3% in men and 6.1% in women. Heavier alcohol consump-tion and alcohol abuse were observed in males, older students, non-natives of Maceio, smokers, and those exposed to alcohol advertising. The re-sults emphasized the vulnerability of these young people to risky health behaviors. Their future so-cial role highlights distinct needs in their univer-sity education to enable them to act professionally in this area.Alcohol Drinking; Students; Behavior