Prevalencia de consumo de alcohol en estudiantes de la facultad de medicina en la Universidad Católica del Maule

Resumen

PREVALENCE OF ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DEL MAULE, CHILE

Background: Teenagers and university students are an especially vulnerable population towards unhealthy alcohol consumption Aim: To assess the actual consumption of alcohol among medical students at the Universidad Católica del Maule, Chile (UCM). Material and methods: A cross sectional study of students who entered medical school between year 2004 and 2010.We applied CAGE questionnaire along with questions about frequency of alcohol consumption. Results: From a universe of 317 students, 216 (age range 17-27 years, 54% females) answered the survey (68.8%), 64.2% admitted to consume alcohol and 6% had alcohol dependence. Seventy three percent of the alcohol drinkers were males. Conclusions: The prevalence of alcohol consumption in medical students of the UCM is significantly lower than the prevalence in students of another University surveyed in 2005 (74%) and it is similar to the national statistics. Alcohol consumption was higher in men that in women.