title: Prevalence, comorbidities, and cofactors associated with alcohol consumption among school-going adolescents in Malaysia.
abstract: Alcohol is deleterious to physical and mental health as well as social well-being. This study aims to examine the prevalence of alcohol consumption and factors associated with its use among school-going Malaysian adolescents. The Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS) 2012 employed 2-stage clustering design to Malaysian secondary school respondents aged 12 to 17 years. The prevalence of current alcohol usage was 8.9% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 7.8-10.07) overall, 11.2% (95% CI: 9.80-12.80) among males, and 23.4 (95% CI: 21.40-25.50) among Chinese students. Multivariate logistic regression showed that adolescents who had used alcohol were more likely to have used substance (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 3.39; 95% CI: 2.33-4.99), experienced injury (aOR = 1.53; 95% CI: 1.20-1.95), and engaged in sexual behaviors (aOR = 1.42, 95% CI: 1.12-1.79), and fights (aOR = 1.23; 95% CI: 1.08-1.41). The current national policies on alcohol should be strengthened to curb alcohol consumption among adolescents.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Public Health, Ministry of Health, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia mmala@moh.gov.my.
authors.forename: Mala A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Manickam
authors.affiliation: Institute for Public Health, Ministry of Health, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Mohd Hatta B
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Abdul Mutalip
authors.affiliation: Institute for Public Health, Ministry of Health, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Hamizatul Akmal Bt
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Abdul Hamid
authors.affiliation: Disease Control Division, Ministry of Health, Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Rozanim Bt
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Kamaruddin
authors.affiliation: Institute for Public Health, Ministry of Health, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Mohd Yusoff B
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Sabtu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: adolescents; alcohol; comorbidities; substance use; youth health