Reuters (9/29, Doyle) reports that students in college appear to have a decreased likelihood of being warned by physicians about dangers posed by alcohol or substance abuse, compared to their peers who do not attend college, according to a research letter published online Sept. 28 in JAMA Pediatrics. The letter was authored by Ralph Hingson, ScD, MPH, of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and colleagues.
The AP (9/29, Tanner) reports that included in the survey were “about 2,100 college students and other young adults across the” US who “were asked in 2012 and 2013 if they’d seen a doctor in the previous year and had been asked and counseled about their drinking, smoking and drug use.” The survey revealed that “fewer than half the college students said they’d been counseled about risks of those habits,” whereas “non-students were slightly more likely to get that kind of counseling.” Hingson “said it’s possible participants didn’t tell doctors the truth about their drinking habits,” but “even so, physicians’ lack of advice may send a message that heavy drinking is OK, Hingson said.”
Related Links:
— “Many college students aren’t warned about substance use risks,” Kathryn Doyle, Reuters, September 28, 2015.