Polydrug use among college students in Brazil: a nationwide survey.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the frequency of polydrug use (alcohol and illicit drugs) among college students and its associations with gender and age group.


METHODS
A nationwide sample of 12,544 college students was asked to complete a questionnaire on their use of drugs according to three time parameters (lifetime, past 12 months, and last 30 days). The co-use of drugs was investigated as concurrent polydrug use (CPU) and simultaneous polydrug use (SPU), a subcategory of CPU that involves the use of drugs at the same time or in close temporal proximity.


RESULTS
Almost 26% of college students reported having engaged in CPU in the past 12 months. Among these students, 37% had engaged in SPU. In the past 30 days, 17% college students had engaged in CPU. Among these, 35% had engaged in SPU. Marijuana was the illicit drug mostly frequently used with alcohol (either as CPU or SPU), especially among males. Among females, the most commonly reported combination was alcohol and prescribed medications.


CONCLUSIONS
A high proportion of Brazilian college students may be engaging in polydrug use. College administrators should keep themselves informed to be able to identify such use and to develop educational interventions to prevent such behavior.
Universidade de São Paulo, Department of Legal Medicine, Ethics, and Occupational Health and Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, São PauloSP, Brazil.
Lúcio Garcia de
LG
Oliveira
Denis Guilherme
DG
Alberghini
Bernardo dos
Bd
Santos
Arthur Guerra de
AG
Andrade
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D000434:Alcoholic Beverages / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
D013287:Illicit Drugs