Does Class Proportion of Students with Non-Western Origin in High Schools Affect Drinking Habits Among Ethnic Danish Students?

A natural experiment: Assessment of Danish high-school students' alcohol drinking patterns from 2014 and 2019 after the introduction of a common alcohol policy

AIM

In this study, using national survey data from 2014 and 2019, we tested the hypothesis that students at schools who introduced a common alcohol policy in 2017 drank less than students at schools without a common policy.

METHODS

We used survey data from 41 high schools that participated in the Danish National Youth Study in 2014 and 2019. We perceived the introduction of a common high-school alcohol policy in 2017 among local groups of high schools as a natural experiment and assessed it using difference-in-difference analyses. We assessed drinking patterns from 2014 and 2019 among students at schools with and without a common alcohol policy combined and stratified by sex in negative binominal regression and logistic regression models. Drinking patterns were measured as average weekly alcohol use, average alcohol intake at last school party, proportion of non-drinkers and frequent binge drinkers.

RESULTS

Drinking patterns were similar among students in schools with and without a common alcohol policy. For example, among students at schools with a common alcohol policy, the average alcohol intake at the last school party among drinkers was 8.7 units in 2014 and 8.5 units in 2019, whereas average alcohol intake among students at schools without a common alcohol policy was 8.8 units in 2014 and 8.9 units in 2019 (p=0.413).

CONCLUSIONS

No statistically significant effects were observed following the introduction of a common alcohol policy on students' drinking patterns, and alcohol consumption among high-school students was stable and remained high in 2014 and in 2019.

Alcohol drinking patterns and occurrence of genital warts among Danish adolescents

BACKGROUND

Under the influence of alcohol adolescents are more prone to engage in unprotected sex, which increases the risk of acquiring genital warts. The study aim was to examine whether alcohol consumption among adolescents is associated with acquiring genital warts.

METHODS

Health behavior data were extracted from the Danish National Youth Study 2014. Complete data were available for 63,648 students. Number of binge drinking episodes in the past 30 days, frequency of drinking on weekends and total number of drinks consumed during 7-day week were collected by a questionnaire. Information on genital warts for the period between filling the questionnaire in 2014 and December 31, 2018 was retrieved from the Danish National Prescription Register and Danish National Patient Register.

RESULTS

Adjusted analysis showed that, compared to students who did not drink alcohol, increasing frequency of binge drinking in the past 30 days was independently associated with greater hazard of acquiring genital warts (1-3 times hazard ratio [HR]: 1.36, 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.09-1.69; 4-6 times HR: 1.55, 95 % CI: 1.22-1.96; >6 times HR: 1.84, 95 % CI 1.39-2.45). Compared to students who did not drink alcohol, consistent alcohol drinking every weekend was associated with greater risk of developing genital warts (HR: 1.62, 95 % CI: 1.20-2.17). Total weekly number of alcohol drinks consumed was not associated with occurrence of genital warts.

CONCLUSION

Increased alcohol intake was associated with occurrence of genital warts over 4 year of follow-up. There is an urgent need for change of excessive alcohol intake tendencies among adolescents.