Relationship between risky alcohol consumption and academic performance in students in the health area at a Chilean University

Abstract

Introduction: the phenomenon of alcohol consumption among university students, particularly in the field of health, is the subject of growing concern due to its potential impact on public health and academic performance. Objective: analyze the relationship between risky alcohol consumption and the academic performance of students studying in the health area at a Chilean university in the second semester of 2023. Methods: the study with a descriptive and transversal quantitative approach, with a sample of 361 students who responded to the AUDIT questionnaire. Academic performance was characterized using the university’s grading system. Results: regarding alcohol consumption, 81,7 % (295 participants) showed low-risk consumption, 16,3 % (59 participants) high-risk consumption, and the remaining 1,9 % a possible consumption or dependence problem. Furthermore, a trend is observed in which students with problematic consumption are distributed between the categories of “good” (note 5) and “very good” (note 6), while risk and low-risk consumption are distributed between the categories of “very good”, “good” and “sufficient”. Conclusions: the findings of this study show that, in general, alcohol consumption does not appear to have a significant negative impact on the academic performance of health students. Although approximately 20 % of those surveyed reported problematic or risky consumption.