Frequency of Smoking, Alcohol Consumption, and Substance Use in Relation to General Health Indicators in Guilan University of Medical Sciences

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Kavosh Cognitive Behavior Sciences and Addiction Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran

2 Kavosh Cognitive Behavior Sciences and Addiction Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran.

10.34172/ahj.2023.1432

Abstract

Background: The risk of substance use is increasing among university students, especially medical students. This study aimed to 
investigate the frequency of smoking, alcohol consumption, and substance use and its relationship with general health indicators 
among the students of Guilan University of Medical Sciences (GUMS) in 2020. The differences in the frequency of substance use 
were also investigated from 2005.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional analytical study conducted on 406 students of GUMS, Iran, in 2020. The data were collected 
through three online questionnaires including a demographic questionnaire, the Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement 
Screening Test (ASSIST), and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). The data were entered into SPSS software version 22 and 
analyzed using Chi-square, Fisher’s Exact tests, and logistic regression at a significance level of 0.05.
Findings: In this study, 53.9% of the participants were female, 46.1% were male, and 54.4% of them experienced using substances 
in their lifetime. The highest prevalence of use was in consumers of tobacco (46.8%), alcoholic beverages (34.7%), and cannabinoid 
compounds (19%). Besides, 48.5% of the participants were suspected of having some degree of psychiatric disorders, among which 
depression (11.6%) and anxiety (8.4%) were the most common. Moreover, substance use during students’ lifetime had a statistically 
significant association with anxiety, depression, and mental health.
Conclusion: The results of this study showed the prevalence of smoking, alcohol consumption, and substance use among the 
students of GUMS is worrying. The relationship between consumption and consumer’s health indicators highlights the necessity of
intervention and purposeful planning by policymakers in this field. 

Keywords


Mohammad Hassan Novin: (Google Scholar) (PubMed)

Saba Shokri: (Google Scholar) (PubMed)

Fatemeh Eslamdoust-Siahestalkhi: (Google Scholar) (PubMed)

Ali Pourramzani: (Google Scholar) (PubMed)

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