@article{10902/34499,
year = {2024},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10902/34499},
abstract = {The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on prevalence rates and self-reported changes in patterns of alcohol use among first-year university students in Spain, considering the risk of problematic alcohol use. A serial cross-sectional study based on the uniHcos project was carried out. Data from 10518 first-year university students (73.3% female, mean age 19 (SD=1.6) collected between 2012 and 2022 were analysed. The evolution of the pooled prevalence rates during the time series was analysed and the risk of problematic alcohol consumption was assessed using the AUDIT. Also, self-reported changes in alcohol use patterns during the pandemic were assessed. Ac cording to the results, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of alcohol use in the past 30-days was reduced (76.3% in 2019 vs. 63.7% in COVID-19) increasing again in the New Normal period. Thus, a similar pattern in the practice of binge drinking was observed. Regarding the AUDIT score, 21.7% (95%CI 20.9, 22.6) of the students had harmful alcohol consumption, with a higher proportion among males. In the multivariable logistic models, a higher AUDIT score was significantly associated (p-value <0.001) with being male and living with roommates. According to self-reported changes in consumption patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic, a higher proportion of participants with harmful use reported an in crease in alcohol consumption compared to those at low-risk (43% vs 19%). Finally, despite the overall reduction in drinking prevalence during COVID-19, changes were not equal for all students and depended on their previous level of problematic drinking, highlighting that this should be considered in the development of strategies against alcohol use in this population.},
organization = {This research was funded by National Drug Plan from the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality of Spain: 2010|145, 2013|034, 2020|030; Instituto de Salud Carlos III: PI16/01947. Lorena Botella-Juan: predoctoral contract financed by Junta de Castilla y León—Consejería de Educación (Spain) using the European Social Fund (EDU/842/2022). Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the help and collaboration of the students who participated in the study.},
publisher = {Elsevier},
publisher = {Alcohol, 2024, 120, 133-141},
title = {Changes in alcohol consumption during the COVID-19 among first-year university students in Spain, considering the risk of problematic use – UniHcos project},
author = {Botella Juan, Lorena and Morales Suarez Varela, María Manuela Del Mar and Amezcua Prieto, Carmen and Mateos Campos, Ramona and Ayán Pérez, Carlos L. and Molina De La Torre, Antonio José and Ortiz Moncada, Rocío and Delgado Parrilla, Ana and Blázquez Abellán, G. and Delgado Rodríquez, Miguel and Alonso Molero, Jessica and Fernández Villa, Tania},
}