Prevalence of alcohol consumption and alcohol use disorders among middle and high school students in the province of Khemisset, Morocco: a cross-sectional study

Alcohol use among adolescents remains a major public health problem. Studies carried out on alcohol use among adolescents in Morocco remain few in number. This study evaluated the prevalence of alcohol use, determinants of hazardous, harmful alcohol use or possible dependence (alcohol use disorder: AUD), and determined its predictors among middle and high school students in the province of Khemisset, Morocco. A cross-sectional study conducted in public middle and high schools in the province of Khemisset, Morocco with a sample of 1236 students. We used the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) to assess the severity of alcohol consumption. Risk factors related with alcohol use were identified using multivariate logistic regression analyses. The results showed that the factors most strongly linked with alcohol use were male gender, older age and having antecedents of depressive disorders.