Drinking habits of medical students call for better integration of teaching about alcohol into the medical curriculum.
A study was conducted with medical students to observe their drinking habits and alcohol misuse. The students completed questionnaires composed of AUDIT and SMAST questions. A significant proportion (33%) of students drank more than the recommended safe limit and screened positive at the AUDIT cut-off score of 11. The high scores of DSM-III criterion questions indicate that problem drinking on college campuses continues to be a significant public health concern. Our opinion is that prevention of alcohol misuse should be started at medical universities. The medical school curriculum must integrate education about alcohol. First the attitude of medical professionals should be changed so that we can achieve results in alcohol misuse prevention in society as a whole.
Varga
M
M
Department of Forensic Medicine, University Medical School of Debrecen, Hungary.
Buris
L
L
D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000534:rehabilitation; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003479:Curriculum; D004501:Education, Medical; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary / Q000453:epidemiology; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers