ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Minerva Psichiatrica 2019 December;60(4):145-51

DOI: 10.23736/S0391-1772.19.02024-7

Copyright © 2019 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Risky consumption of alcohol in nursing students

Sandro PROVENZANO ¹, Omar E. SANTANGELO ¹ ✉, Claudia GLIUBIZZI ¹, Francesco ARMETTA ¹, Antonio TERRANOVA ¹, Giuseppe D’ANNA ², Domiziana GIORDANO ¹, Dalila BARRESI ³, Enrico ALAGNA ¹, Dimple GRIGIS ⁴, Cristina GENOVESE ⁵, Raffaele SQUERI ⁵, Alberto FIRENZE ¹

¹ Department of Health Promotion, Maternal-Infant, Internal Medicine and Specialization of Excellence G. D’Alessandro (PROMISE), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy; ² Nursing Office, P. Giaccone University Hospital, Palermo, Italy; ³ Department of Biomedicine, Neuroscience and Advanced Diagnostics, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy; ⁴ University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy; ⁵ Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy

BACKGROUND: Abuse of alcohol among students is a problem that has not to be undervalued because it can damage mental and global health and, as a consequence, it can negatively influence the academic and training performance roping at the end on patients’ health. Our study focused particularly on nursing students of the University of Palermo of the three years of course with the aim to estimate the prevalence of risky alcohol consumption and to analyze the associated factors.
METHODS: In April 2019 a questionnaire was administered to all the nursing students of University of Palermo of the three years of course, accompanied by informed consent. Multivariable logistic regression was performed. The statistical significance level chosen for all analyzes was 0.05. The results were analyzed using the STATA statistical software version 14. Results are expressed as adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) with 95% Confidence Intervals (95% CI).
RESULTS: The sample consists of 493 (67.55% female) students that completed the questionnaire. The multivariable logistic regression model shows that the risk to have risky consumption of alcohol is significantly associated with the following independent variables: female gender (aOR 1.91); Age class <22 years old (aOR 2.49) and currently be a smoker (aOR 3.35).
CONCLUSIONS: In the light of the findings, it would be appropriate for the University, for example, to organize information and training campaigns aimed at preventing alcoholism and the risks associated with it by trying to instruct the nursing student on the socio-economic and social costs that the pathologies related to abuse have on public health, paying particular attention to the classes represented by the female sex and under the age of 22 years.

KEY WORDS: Universities; Alcohol drinking; Students, nursing; Sicily; Mediterranean Region