Fatores associados à manutenção do vício de fumar e do consumo de álcool entre acadêmicos de medicina em uma capital do nordeste do Brasil

Abstract

Introduction: Drug use among young people in Brazil is increasing, particularly among the university students, leading to additional health-related concerns for students. Objective: To identify factors associated with continued smoking addiction and alcohol consumption among medical students. Methods: An analytical, prevalence study was carried out involving medical students at the four medical schools of Fortaleza, northeastern Brazil. A semi-structured questionnaire with 46 objective questions was applied to students in their first year of the course (S1/S2) in 2012 and again in 2016, when these same students were taking their internship (I3/I4). The sample was calculated based on a study population consisting of all the students in the two periods evaluated. The project was approved by the REC, through opinion no. 020/2012.Results: 360 students were interviewed in the first phase of the research, and 354 students in the second phase. Tobacco consumption increased from 17.4% during the first year of the course to 28.2% during the internship (p <0.001). The same occurred with alcohol consumption, which was already high at the beginning of the course (84.6%) and increased to 92.6% (p <0.001). In the first year of the course, 40.5% of the students reported having got drunk at least once. During their time at medical school, this percentage rose to 59.5% (PR = 1.66, p <0.001). Conclusion: Alcohol and tobacco consumption increased significantly during medical school. There is a need for interventions in the habits of medical student, in order to reduce excessive alcohol consumption and smoking in this population.