A recent study on alcohol addiction has just added a new finding that proved med students are at risk of having drinking problems. Pressure in studying and debt are the two major causes of the abuse.
Researchers at Mayo Clinic, Minnesota released news suggesting schools to help address the issue and find a solution. The clinic claimed to receive reports from 1,400 med students with alcohol dependence after conducting a survey to 12,500 med students in the U.S. The response received was from a third of all who majored in the medical field.
The study highlights high education cost as one of the contributing factors in alcohol abuse
The diagnostic parameter of binge drinking is having more than five drinks per day for 30 days. It also measures the previous treatment received for alcohol addiction. Compared to other students who are not involved in the study, only 16 percent of them reported to meet the criteria. This means that medical students are twice likely to abuse alcohol.
Furthermore, the research found a link that associates exhaustion with alcohol abuse despite many other elements being analyzed such as age, marital status and debts. The Association of American Medical Colleges published a student debt fact card, where medical education debt reached $180,000 in average after the med schools cost rose by 200 percent.
Each year, Americans show an increasing amount of alcohol consumption that leads to alcohol-related death especially among women. Most of the causes are drunk-driving, homicides and other accidents.
What does the research suggests?
According to Professor Lotte N. Dyrbye, this research is the first analysis that links alcohol abuse and burnout specifically on medical students.
This report leads to a serious concern for the institutions. If education fees continue to rise, so are the debts. Lower income would definitely bring psychological impact on students once they graduate.
