Systematic review and meta-analysis: prevalence of alcohol use among young people in eastern Africa
Themes:
Francis, J. M., Grosskurth, H., Changalucha, J., Kapiga, S. H. and Weiss, H. A.
Tropical Medicine & International Health, 2014; doi: 10.1111/tmi.12267
Systematic review and meta-analysis: prevalence of alcohol use among young people in eastern Africa
To estimate the prevalence of alcohol use and determine the extent of use of standardised screening questionnaires in alcohol studies, the authors searched five databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Global Health, Africa-wide and PsycINFO. Their systematic review and meta-analysis found:
- reported alcohol use and problem drinking were common among diverse groups of young people aged 15 to 24 in eastern Africa
- a high degree of heterogeneity existed between studies
- highest prevalence of ever use of alcohol occured among university students (82%; 95%CI: 79–85%) and female sex workers (66%; 95%CI: 58–74%)
- current use was most prevalent among male sex workers (69%; 95%CI: 63–75%)
The paper recommends the development of urgently needed alcohol-focused interventions in this population.
Few studies used standardised alcohol screening questionnaires. The authors note that questionnaires for epidemiological research should be validated for use in this population.
