ArticleGlobal health action2022
Social media use and alcohol consumption among students in Uganda: a cross sectional study.
Article in Global health action, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Addressing High Alcohol Consumption and Alcohol Use Disorders Among Adolescents and Young People in Sub-Saharan Africa: Pathways to Effective Action.Substance abuse and rehabilitation · 2025Review
- The Relationship Between Alcohol-Related Content on Social Media and Alcohol Outcomes in Young Adults: A Scoping Review.Alcohol research : current reviews · 2025Article
- Exploring links-exposure to alcohol adverts on social media in relation to alcohol use among university students in Uganda.Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire) · 2024Article
- Burden of alcohol and other substance use and correlates among undergraduate students at Busitema University in rural Eastern Uganda after COVID-19 lockdown.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Polydrug Use among Students in a Public University in a Lower Middle-Income Country.BioMed research international · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundGlobally, alcohol use significantly contributes to the disease burden. Alcohol consumption in Uganda is related to several health consequences among young people, including university students. Social media is commonly used by students to share academic information and create social networks. Among young people in high-income countries, previous studies have also shown that social media use can have negative health outcomes related to alcohol use, and associated problems. To date, similar studies conducted in low- and middle-income countries are largely missing.
objectiveTo assess the prevalence of and associations between social media use and alcohol consumption among university students in Uganda.
methodThis was a cross-sectional study among 996 undergraduate students at Makerere University. Data were collected using a questionnaire. Alcohol use in the previous 12 months was the dependent variable. The independent variable was social media use categorised as general use, alcohol-related use, and social media lurking/passive participation. Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess associations. Crude and adjusted odds ratios were reported.
resultsNearly all students (97%) used social media and 39% reported alcohol use. Regular alcohol use was significantly associated with moderate (OR = 2.22, CI: 1.35-3.66) and high level general social media use (OR = 2.45, CI: 1.43-4.20). Regular alcohol use was also associated with alcohol-related social media (OR = 6.46, CI: 4.04-10.30), and alcohol-related lurking (OR = 4.59, CI: 2.84-7.39). Similar, although weaker associations were identified for occasional alcohol use.
conclusionsApproximately four in ten students reported alcohol use in the past year, and almost all students used social media. Alcohol-related social media use was associated with occasional and regular alcohol use, with stronger associations for regular use. These findings may guide further research and present an opportunity for potential alcohol control interventions to improve health among young populations in low- and middle-income countries.
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