Changes in tobacco and alcoholic beverage consumption among adolescents from Curitiba in the State of Paraná: a longitudinal study

Abstract

The scope of this study was to verify alterations in cigarette and alcohol consumption in a sample of adolescents from the state education system of the city of Curitiba in the State of Paraná between 2015 and 2017. It involved a longitudinal prospective cohort study conducted with 799 adolescents (11 to 15 years of age) between 2015 and 2017. The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBS) questionnaire evaluated mild and excessive alcohol and tobacco consumption. Modifications of alcohol and tobacco consumption were evaluated through Generalizable Estimating Equation (GEE) models with Poisson distribution to obtain Incidence Risk Ratios (IRR) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). The “time” variable was treated as an independent variable along with other possible predictors (gender, age bracket, nutritional status, socioeconomic level, head of household education, physical activity and screen time). Tobacco consumption (IRR= 1,32, 95%CI = 1,02; 1,71), mild (IRR= 1,32, 95%CI = 1,13; 1,53) and excessive (IRR= 1,21, 95%CI = 1,04; 1,40) alcohol consumption increased between 2015 and 2017. This study indicates that adolescents participating in this research are modifying their behaviors towards a less healthy lifestyle.

Key words
Risk behavior; Tobacco; Binge drinking; Adolescents