Prevalence of alcohol use in teenagers - The PINGA study

Abstract

Aim: To characterize consumption of alcohol by adolescents, to study the association of alcohol consumption with gender and age and to determine the main reasons for consumption of alcohol by adolescents. Type of study: Cross-sectional. Location: High schools of the district of Bragança, Portugal. Population: Teenagers aged 13 to 19 years old. Methods: In the sample, 51.6% of the subjects were females, 18.5% were 13-14 years old, 59.9% were 15-17 years old and 21.7% were 18-19 years old. The required sample size was 955 based on expected proportion of alcohol consumption of 45% with a 3% level of precision. Variables studied included gender, age, alcohol consumption and reasons for consumption. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire (AAIS) with scores ranging from 0-79. Associations between variables were tested using the with chi-square statistic with significance set at the 0.05 level. Results: The authors obtained 1061 questionnaires.In the sample, 96.4% had consumed alcohol in the previous year; 69.5% of the subjects consumed alcohol at least monthly. 226 subjects drank every weekend and 21 drank daily; 27.7% practiced binge drinking. A risky pattern of alcohol consumption occurred in 68.3% of the adolescents. Consumption was higher among boys (p=0,032) and increased with age. Coping with peer pressure and taste were given as the main reasons for drinking, independent of gender or age. Conclusions: The proportion of adolescents consuming alcohol in this study was high compared to other published figures. This was higher among males and older studernts. The social environment is a strong determinant of drinking. In light of these results, an intervention strategy appears necessary in this population.