Key result
Higher physical activity linked to ~41% lower odds of harmful drinking in males, not females.
Why the study?
The COVID-19 pandemic increased alcohol consumption and decreased physical activity levels globally, but studies examining these issues in the post-pandemic period were lacking.
Does higher physical activity level or sport participation reduce harmful alcohol drinking in college/university students?
Cross-Sectional (n=788)
Yes
Does higher physical activity level or sport participation reduce harmful alcohol drinking in college/university students?
Odds Ratio: 1.41 (95% CI 1.11–1.76)
Higher physical activity levels are associated with a lower likelihood of harmful alcohol drinking in male university students, but not in females, during the post-pandemic period.
Hypothesis-generating for activity-based interventions in male students; leaves open causality, gender differences, and need for longitudinal confirmation.
Introduction. COVID-19 pandemic increased consumption of alcohol (including harmful drinking – HD), and decreased physical activity levels (PAL) globally, but there is an evident lack of studies examining the problem in the post-pandemic period. This study aimed to evaluate gender-specific associations between sport participation and PAL (independent variables), and HD (dependent variable) among college/university students during the first post-pandemic year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and Methods. The participants were college/university students, aged 18 to 21 years (n = 788; 409 females) from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. They were tested on socio-demographic factors, HD (using the AUDIT scale), sport participation and PAL (using the IPAQ questionnaire). Analysis of variance, Chi square test, and t-test for independent samples were used to evaluate differences, while logistic regression with dichotomized criterion (HD vs. non-harmful drinking – NHD) was calculated to establish associations between independent and dependent variables. Results. T-test indicated significant differences between HD and NHD in PAL (t-test = 2.16, p = 0.02), but only in males. Also, logistic regression indicated a significant correlation between PAL and HD in males (OR: 1.41, 95%CI: 1.11-1.76), while no association was evidenced: (i) between sport participation and HD (in both males and females), and (ii) between PAL and HD (in females). Conclusions. Results indicated that an overall increase in PAL could be helpful in decreasing HD among college/university students; however, to evaluate it more specifically, prospective analyses are needed.
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Drenjak et al. (2023) conducted a cross-sectional in Harmful alcohol drinking (n=788). Physical activity level (PAL) vs. Lower physical activity level was evaluated on Harmful alcohol drinking (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.11-1.76). Higher physical activity levels were significantly associated with a lower likelihood of harmful alcohol drinking in male university students (OR 1.41), while no association was found in females.
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