[Alcohol consumption and adolescence: a descriptive epidemiological study].
OBJECTIVE
To determine the consumption of alcoholic drinks among adolescents in Tres Cantos and its defining characteristics.


METHODS
A descriptive, cross-sectional study.


METHODS
State schools in Tres Cantos.


METHODS
All the students present (994) who had registered for the 1994-95 year.


RESULTS
A self-filled anonymous questionnaire was answered in the class-rooms of the schools in Tres Cantos during May 1995. The relationship between the variables was worked out using the computer programme EPI-INFO (version 5.01). 73.1% of those polled consumed alcoholic drinks. There were no significant differences for gender. Most consumption was at the weekend. The commonest drink was wine and its combinations, followed by beer, rum or gin and coke, spirits and fizzy drinks. The CAGE test was positive in 14.1% of cases. 59.6% had got drunk on some occasion, 89.3% consumed alcohol for the first time before they were 16, which most did outside the home. There was a significant association between participating in religious activities and less alcohol consumption.


CONCLUSIONS
The percentage of alcohol consumers among students is high. It is characterised by being similar in both sexes, starting at an early age and clear predominance of consumption at weekends and outside the home. Wine and its combinations is the commonest drink.
Alonso Hernández
J
J
Rosado Martín
J
J
Ruiz-Morote Aragón
R
R
Alonso Fernández
J
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000367:Age Factors; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D012984:Software; D013030:Spain; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires