Mental Disorders associated with alcohol consumption in medical students of a peruvian University

Abstract

Introduction: There is evidence that mental disorders can lead to a greater risk of alcohol consumption, especially in vulnerable populations such as medical students.

Objective: To determine the association of mental disorders with alcohol consumption in medical students of a Peruvian university.

Material and Methods: An analytical, cross-sectional study was carried out. The sample consisted of 210 students, the selection was random and by strata. The DASS-21 questionnaire was used to measure depression, anxiety and stress. In addition, the AUDIT questionnaire was used to assess the risk of alcohol consumption. The results were presented through univariate and bivariate analysis.

Results: 210 medical students were analyzed, finding a prevalence of depression of 35.23%, anxiety with 47.61% and stress with 26.66%. Additionally, it was observed that sex did not influence the severity of depression, anxiety and stress. Regarding the risk of alcohol consumption, it was evidenced that no medical student was a non-consumer, the most frequent category was low risk 67.61%, followed by moderate risk 28.57%. In this way, there is a statistically significant direct positive linear relationship, that is, a higher level of depression, anxiety and stress increases the risk of alcohol consumption.

Conclusions: The prevalence of mental disorders increases the risk of alcohol consumption in medical students.