Abstract

"Background: Medical students, as tomorrow’s doctors, hold a unique place in society and have privileges and responsibilities different from those of other students. Alcohol and other substance use by medical students poses risks to them and can also have serious consequences on their effectiveness and fitness to practise as tomorrow’s doctors. The aim of the study was to find out the prevalence of alcohol use among the undergraduates of Rohilkhand Medical College , Bareilly and the factors affecting its use.
Methodology: This cross- sectional study was conducted among the undergraduates of Rohilkhand Medical College, Bareilly using the WHO questionnaire (AUDIT).
Data was entered, coded, recoded, and analysed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) and suitable statistical tests were applied along with logistic regression to know the independent association of the factors of alcohol use.
Results: There is a significant association of alcohol use among the medical student’s family history and type of family along with the mother’s occupation. On application of regression analysis, after nullifying the effect of confounders, only mother’s occupation was found to be significantly associated.
Conclusion: It is alarming that the parentral behavior towards alcohol use has significant impact on their children’s behavior and thereby it is clear that one should be conscious about their deeds."

Key words: Pattern of alcohol use, hazardous, harmful and dependent users