Sunday, July 11th, 2010 at
9:03 pm
Prevalence of alcohol and drug use in a highly educated workforce.
This study examined alcohol and licit and illicit drug use in a highly educated medical related workforce.
A comprehensive health survey of a 10% random sample of a workforce (n = 8,567) yielded a 60% response rate (n = 504) after accounting for 15 undeliverable surveys.
- Many respondents reported past-year use of alcohol (87%).
- Thirteen percent of respondents consumed three or more drinks daily; 15% were binge drinkers.
- Twelve percent of the workforce was assessed as having a high likelihood of lifetime alcohol dependence;
- 5% of respondents met criteria for current problem drinking.
- Overall, 42% reported using mood-altering prescription drugs (analgesics, antidepressants, sedatives, or tranquilizers).
- Eleven percent reported using illicit drugs (cocaine, hallucinogens, heroin, or marijuana) in the past year.
Significant relationships were found between gender, age, ethnicity, and occupation with some measures of alcohol consumption and use of mood-altering drugs.
These results indicate prevention and early intervention programs need to address use of mood-altering substances (including alcohol) in highly educated workforces.
Research; J Behav Health Serv Res. ;29(1):30-44. Prevalence of alcohol and drug use in a highly educated workforce. Matano RA, Wanat SF, Westrup D, Koopman C, Whitsell SD.
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Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at
1:34 am
The objectives of this research were to assess the prevalence of substance use among Dutch dental students and to determine their attitudes about substance use and its consequences.
METHODS: In association with a national study of drug use among US dental students, a questionnaire was translated from English into Dutch and administered to dental students at two dental schools in The Netherlands. Students received an anonymous 115-item questionnaire in the fall of 1996.
RESULTS: Alcohol was the students’ drug of choice for
- lifetime (95%),
- past year (94%) and
- past month (88%) use.
No significant correlations were found between alcohol use and gender, schools, and years in dental education.
In the past month,
- 58% of students reported drinking on 5 or more days;
- 53% had 5 or more drinks on the same occasion,
- 20% had 5 or more drinks on the same occasion on 5 or more days; and
- 17% reported getting drunk at least monthly.
Prevalence rates for past month use of tobacco was 24% and marijuana, 4%.
Male students smoked twice as much as females, with significant differences found for all three periods of use (X2>19.00, P<0.01).
When asked whether their schools offered policies and education programs on alcohol and other drugs, 52% of students reported that these were not available.
CONCLUSIONS: Dental schools should develop effective programmes to educate students about responsible use of alcohol and other licit and illicit drugs. Schools should also inform students about their susceptibilities to substance abuse and dependency.
Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2001 Feb;29(1):48-54. Substance use among Dutch dental students. Plasschaert AJ, Hoogstraten J, van Emmerik BJ, Webster DB, Clayton RR.
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