Consumption of medicines, alcohol, tobacco and cannabis among university students: a 2-year follow-up.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of medicine consumption among Spanish university students and its association with alcohol, tobacco and cannabis consumption.


METHODS
We carried out a cohort study among Spanish university students (n = 2,700). Consumption of medicines during the previous 15 days, risky alcohol use, and tobacco and cannabis consumption were measured using questionnaire. Logistic regression models were generated using consumption of medicines as dependent variables at the beginning of the study and for a 2-year follow-up.


RESULTS
A multivariate logistic regression model showed at the beginning of the study that being female (OR = 1.71), living away from home (OR = 1.35) and being a smoker (OR = 1.40) are associated with consumption of medicines. Furthermore, the model shows a significant interaction between risky alcohol use and cannabis consumption (OR = 2.00). The 2-year follow-up shows that only being female (OR = 1.44) and risky alcohol use (OR = 1.36) are associated with the considered dependent variable.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results reveal a very high intake of medicines among university students; most of them are without a medical prescription. Probably, this consumption of medicines is another form of poly-consumption of drugs.
CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Department of Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Santiago de Compostela, c/ San Francisco s/n, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Spain. francisco.caamano@usc.es
Francisco
F
Caamaño-Isorna
Nayara
N
Mota
Alberto
A
Crego
Montserrat
M
Corral
Socorro
S
Rodríguez Holguín
Fernando
F
Cadaveira
D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008385:Marijuana Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult