Prevalence and associated factors of alcohol use patterns among university students in Uganda

Introduction: majority of alcohol use pattern studies among university students are from developed countries. Information about the different alcohol use patterns and their correlates among university students in sub-Saharan Africa is limited. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and cardinal demographic and psychosocial factors associated with specific alcohol use patterns among Ugandan university students. Methods: a cross section study conducted over 5-months among university students using a standardized socio-demographic questionnaire screened for alcohol use problems, depression symptoms and academic stress using the alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT), self-reporting questionnaire (SRQ-20) and the higher education stress inventory (HESI) respectively. Multivariate multinomial regression models were used to determine factors independently associated with a specific alcohol use pattern with low-risk drinkers as the reference group. Results: a thousand out of 1200 students completed all study requirements for which 60% were males; median age was 22.3 (SD=2.36). The prevalence estimates of any alcohol use, low-risk drinking, heavy episodic drinking and alcohol misuse were 31%, 17.3%, 4.5% and 8.9% respectively. In comparison to low-risk drinkers, students reporting heavy episodic drinking were more likely to report high levels of academic stress (P-value <= 0.10). Those with alcohol misuse were more likely to be males and with significant depression symptoms (P-value <= 0.05). Non-alcohol users were more likely to report high levels of academic stress (P-value 0.05). Conclusion: the prevalence of maladaptive alcohol use patterns is high among Ugandan university students. Integrating peer led psychological interventions into student health services is desperately needed.