Prevalence, perceptions, and consequences of substance use in medical students

Abstract

Background: Research regarding the health and wellness of medical students has led to ongoing concerns regarding patterns of alcohol and drug use that take place during medical education. Such research, however, is typically limited to single-institution studies or has been conducted over 25 years ago. Objective: The objective of the investigation was to assess the prevalence and consequences of medical student alcohol and drug use and students’ perceptions of their medical school’s substance-use policies. Design: A total of 855 medical students representing 49 medical colleges throughout the United States participated in an online survey between December 2015 and March 2016. Results: Data showed that 91.3% and 26.2% of medical students consumed alcohol and used marijuana respectively in the past year, and 33.8% of medical students consumed five or more drinks in one sitting in the past two weeks. Differences in use emerged regarding demographic characteristics of students. Consequences of alcohol and drug use in this sample of medical students included but were not limited to interpersonal altercations, serious suicidal ideation, cognitive deficits, compromised academic performance, and driving under the influence of substances. Forty percent of medical students reported being unaware of their medical institution’s substance-use policies. Conclusions: Findings suggest that substance use among medical students in the US is ongoing and associated with consequences in various domains. There is a lack of familiarity regarding school substance-use policies. Although there has been some progress in characterizing medical student alcohol use, less is known about the factors surrounding medical students’ use of other substances. Updated, comprehensive studies on the patterns of medical student substance use are needed if we are to make the necessary changes needed to effectively prevent substance-use disorders among medical students and support those who are in need of help.

How to Cope with the Challenges of Medical Education? Stress, Depression, and Coping in Undergraduate Medical Students

“…He interpreted this as being positive because the students were not using drugs as a coping strategy. In contrast to other studies, which report about 30% of risky drinking habits [37] and alcohol abuse or dependence [38] among medical students, our data showed that even if the 3-month prevalence of alcohol consumption is over 90%, high-risk drinking was not very common. Overall, under 1.5% of our participants met the criteria for high-risk drinking.…”

Tobacco and cannabis use in college students are predicted by sex‐dimorphic interactions between MAOA genotype and child abuse

“…Epidemiological surveys in the USA and other Western countries have documented that students enrolled in postsecondary institutions display a high prevalence of problematic use of alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis . The abuse of these substances results in enduring and severe consequences, including neurocognitive problems, poor academic performance, financial and legal repercussions, health concerns, as well as unintentional injuries and mortality . Better interventional strategies are needed for the prevention of substance use in this population, but these efforts are severely hampered by our inadequate understanding of the etiology of substance use vulnerability.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] The abuse of these substances results in enduring and severe consequences, including neurocognitive problems, poor academic performance, financial and legal repercussions, health concerns, as well as unintentional injuries and mortality. [9][10][11][12][13][14] Better interventional strategies are needed for the prevention of substance use in this population, but these efforts are severely hampered by our inadequate understanding of the etiology of substance use vulnerability.…”

When investigating depression and anxiety in undergraduate medical students timing of assessment is an important factor - a multicentre cross-sectional study

“…Other mental health issues have been found to affect medical students. Studies in several countries have found relatively high levels of substance abuse (both alcohol and drugs) and both eating and sleep disorders [8][9][10]. The focus of this paper is on the symptoms of depression and anxiety experienced by medical students.…”