Clustering of smoking, alcohol drinking and cannabis use in adolescents in a rapidly developing country (original) (raw)

Emerging burden of alcohol, drug, and tobacco use initiations among 303,519 school-going adolescents in 92 countries

Adolescent alcohol, drug, and tobacco use is an emerging public health concern in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) and high-income countries (HICs). Yet, there is a lack of reliable, national-level data to inform policies and prevention interventions. This study aimed to provide the best available associations of global and regional risk and protective factors of the early initiation of alcohol, drugs, and tobacco use (before 14 years or 14–17 years old) amongst school–going adolescents. A total of 303,519 adolescents participated in this study. They were drawn from 92 countries in the latest Global School–based Student Health Survey of school children aged 14–17 years. Our analysis covered the period between 2003 and 2015 for which data are available, grouped according to the six World Health Organization (WHO) regions. The pooled weighted prevalence of early initiation of alcohol, drug and tobacco use amongst adolescents (aged <14 years) was 15·37% (28·19% for aged 14–17...

Worldwide application of prevention science in adolescent health

The Lancet, 2012

The burden of morbidity and mortality from non-communicable disease has risen worldwide and is accelerating in low-income and middle-income countries, whereas the burden from infectious diseases has declined. Since this transition, the prevention of non-communicable disease as well as communicable disease causes of adolescent mortality has risen in importance. Problem behaviours that increase the short-term or long-term likelihood of morbidity and mortality, including alcohol, tobacco, and other drug misuse, mental health problems, unsafe sex, risky and unsafe driving, and violence are largely preventable. In the past 30 years new discoveries have led to prevention science being established as a discipline designed to mitigate these problem behaviours. Longitudinal studies have provided an understanding of risk and protective factors across the life course for many of these problem behaviours. Risks cluster across development to produce early accumulation of risk in childhood and more pervasive risk in adolescence. This understanding has led to the construction of developmentally appropriate prevention policies and programmes that have shown short-term and long-term reductions in these adolescent problem behaviours. We describe the principles of prevention science, provide examples of effi cacious preventive interventions, describe challenges and potential solutions to take effi cacious prevention policies and programmes to scale, and conclude with recommendations to reduce the burden of adolescent mortality and morbidity worldwide through preventive intervention.

Prevalence of tobacco, alcohol, and other drug abuse among school-going male adolescents in Jammu

International Journal of Medical Science and Public Health, 2015

as the age group of 10-19 years. In India, adolescents constitute 21.4% (one-fifth) of the total population. Owing to huge numbers, one of the most important commitments India can make for its future economic, social, and political progresses and stability is to address the health and developmental needs of its adolescents. Adolescents, from both rural and urban areas, may start experimenting with risky behaviors, then intensify unhealthy activities, and ultimately demonstrate extreme vulnerability to such behaviors.

Advancing Prevention Science and Practice: Challenges, Critical Issues, and Future Directions

Prevention Science, 2000

Progress in identifying effective programs and policies for preventing tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use has stimulated a growing sense of optimism about the potential of prevention science and practice. This paper summarizes some of the key challenges and critical issues that still need to be addressed for the advances of the past two decades of prevention research to have an impact on the nature of prevention practice and eventually translate into reductions in mortality and morbidity. In addition to identifying effective strategies for disseminating the use of evidence-based prevention programs and policies, issues related to implementation fidelity and adaptation need to be better understood as well as factors associated with institutionalization of effective prevention programs. Further advances in prevention science and practice will require a new emphasis on blended research models that involve conducting prevention research in practice settings with the active collaboration of researchers and practitioners.

School-based programmes to prevent alcohol, tobacco and other drug use

International Review of Psychiatry, 2007

Substance use and abuse are important public health problems in the USA and throughout the world. In many developed countries, the initial stages of substance use typically include experimentation with alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana with one's peer group during adolescence. While there have been gradual decreases in the use of these substances in recent years among youth in the USA and other countries, increases have been observed in the use and misuse of other substances, such as the misuse of prescription drugs and over-the-counter cough medications in the USA. From a developmental perspective, data shows that rates of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and other illicit drug use typically escalate during adolescence and peak during young adulthood, corresponding with the increased freedom and independence of this time of life. Substance use decreases for most young people as they take on adult responsibilities, although a proportion will continue or increase their use and develop substance use problems. Given what we know about the onset and progression of substance use, implementing preventive interventions during early adolescence is critical. Most drug prevention or education programmes take place in school settings. A variety of theory-based school-based drug prevention programmes have been developed and tested. The most effective programmes are delivered interactively and teach skills to help young people refuse drug offers, resist pro-drug influences, correct misperceptions that drug use is normative, and enhance social and personal competence skills. A key challenge is to identify mechanisms for the wide dissemination of evidence-based drug preventive interventions and ways to train providers to implement programmes effectively and thoroughly.

Does elementary school alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use increase middle school risk?

Journal of Adolescent Health, 2002

Methods: Longitudinal analyses were conducted on questionnaire data from 331 middle school students who had previously provided ATOD-use data during elementary school. Non-school personnel administered questionnaires in three participating school districts in three different states. The sample of students was ethnically and geographically diverse, including students from a range of low socioeconomic status backgrounds living in rural, urban or inner-city environments.

Are Adolescents likely to Start Smoking APJCP Volume 19 Issue S1 Pages 25 31

The prevalence of cigarette smoking is high among adolescents in the Caribbean, including Jamaica. Age of initiation of cigarette smoking varies among adolescents. A number of factors has been reported to influence early age of initiation of cigarette smoking. The aim of this study was to determine if parental smoking status was associated with early age of onset of cigarette smoking among Jamaican adolescents. Methods: Data from the Jamaican National School Survey (NSS) conducted in 2013 were analysed. The nationally representative sample comprised of 3,365 students enrolled in 8th grade to 12th grade in 38 public and private secondary schools. Descriptive and inferential statistics were computed using SPSS. Results: The mean age of initiation of cigarette smoking among the subjects was 12.4years [SD: 2.69]. There was no significant association between parental cigarette smoking status and the age of initiation of cigarette smoking among the adolescents (female X 2 = 0.753, P = 0.861; male X 2 = 6.953, P = 0.073). Logistic regression analysis showed that parental smoking status was not a predictor of early age of initiation of cigarette smoking among the adolescents (father/ guardian AOR= 0.81, 95% CI= 0.56-1.11; mother/guardian AOR= 0.96, 95% CI= 0.44 -2.10; both parent AOR= 0.49, 95%CI= 0.22-1.07). However, having a parent with secondary education was a risk factor for early initiation of smoking (AOR= 1.71, 95%CI= 1.13-2.57), while being in 8th grade was a protective factor against early age of initiation of cigarette smoking (AOR= 0.43, 95% CI= 0.23 -0.80). Conclusion: Parental smoking cigarette smoking status was not a predictor of early age of cigarette smoking initiation among Jamaican adolescents.

The Relationship Between Early Age of Onset of Initial Substance Use and Engaging in Multiple Health Risk Behaviors Among Young Adolescents

Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 1999

Background: Previous research based on problembehavior theory has found that early age of onset of substance use is associated with engaging in multiple health risk behaviors among high school students. It is unknown whether these relationships begin during early adolescence. Objective: To examine the relationships between early age of onset of cigarette, alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine use and engaging in multiple risk behaviors among middle school students. Methods: A modified version of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Youth Risk Behavior Survey was administered to 2227 sixth through eighth grade students attending 53 randomly selected middle schools in North Carolina. A Health Risk Behavior Scale was constructed from 16 behaviors, including indicators of violence and weapon carrying; current substance use; nonuse of helmets when biking, in-line skating or skateboarding; not wearing a seat belt; riding with a driver who had been drinking; and suicide plans. Among this sample of middle school students, the scale had a mean (SD) of 4.1 (2.7) (range=0-15), and had a high internal reliability coefficient (␣=0.74). The independent variables included first time use of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine at age 11 years or earlier; actual age of onset of each substance; race and ethnicity; family composition; sex; school grade; academic ranking; and older age for school grade. These data were analyzed with analysis of variance, Spearman r, and multiple linear regression. Results: All the independent variables were found to be associated (PϽ.005) with the Health Risk Behavior Scale during the bivariate analyses. When each of these significant variables were entered into a multiple regression model, having smoked at age 11 years or younger accounted for 21.9% of the variation in the Health Risk Behavior Scale. Male sex, early marijuana or cocaine use, older age, lower academic rank, white race, and living in a 1parent family explained an additional 19.1% of variation in the model (adjusted R 2 =0.41, PϽ.001). When the actual ages of onset of the use of substances were analyzed, in order of magnitude; age of onset of smoking; male sex; age of onset of alcohol and marijuana use; age; lower academic ranking; age of onset of cocaine use; white race; and lower academic rating accounted for 52.8% (PϽ.001) of the variation in the Health Risk Behavior Scale. Editor's Note: I guess we can now say that early, early age of onset of substance abuse is associated with engaging in multiple health risk behaviors.

Factors related to an increase of cannabis use among adolescents in Chile: National school based surveys between 2003 and 2017

Addictive Behaviors Reports, 2020

Background: Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit substance worldwide. In Chile, the prevalence of cannabis use among adolescents is the highest in the Americas. Our aim was to identify prevalence trends of cannabis use and associated factors in adolescents. Methods: We performed multivariate logistic regression analyses of 416,417 cross-sectional school-based surveys of adolescents from 8th to 12th grade conducted between 2003 and 2017 in Chile. Cannabis use was the dependent variable. Age, gender, socioeconomic variables, and factors on the individual, school and family level were assessed as independent variables. Results: The prevalence of cannabis use in the past year increased from 13.6% in 2003 to 31.3% in 2017 in a linear trend (F(df:1,6) = 27.6; R 2 = 0.79; p < 0.01). The strongest association with cannabis use was seen for having friends who regularly use cannabis, and low perceived risk of cannabis use. Between 2003 and 2017, the strength of association between the variable having friends who regularly use cannabis and cannabis use decreased from OR = 6.2 to OR = 2.9, in a significant linear trend (F(df:1,6) = 60.5; R 2 = 0.89; p < 0.01); whereas the OR for low parental rejection of cannabis use with cannabis use increased in a linear trend (F(df:1,6) = 22.8; R 2 = 0.75, p < 0.01) from OR = 1.2 to OR = 2.1. Conclusions: Increasing cannabis use of adolescents in Chile requires adjustments of prevention strategies. Prevalence factors identified here constitute potential targets for interventions.