SynthesisBMC medical education2025
Substance use and academic performance among university students: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC medical education, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and Academic Performance in University Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2026Pooled it
- Motivation Profiles Towards Academic Reading, Substance-Related and Problematic Behaviors in Future Teachers.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2026Article
- Position paper on symbiotic intelligence in healthcare: Can AI help us better understand suicidal behavior and prevent suicide?Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Psychosocial risk for substance use in 80,000 Mexican undergraduates: mental health and academic strain.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Motivational Interventions for Reducing Excessive Alcohol Consumption Among University Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Electronic and Conventional Cigarette Use and Academic Achievement Among Predominantly Low-Income Black High School Students.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- University Students' Good Practices as Moderators Between Active Coping and Stress Responses.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSubstance use is a widespread concern among young adults and is particularly significant among college students. Substance use in this population is associated with several academic, physical, mental, and social difficulties. This systematic review and metanalysis explores whether there is an effect of the legal and illegal substance and alcohol consumption behaviors on academic achievement among university students.
methodsThe databases searched were MEDLINE, CINHAL, Scopus, ERIC, and PROSPERO, updated in January 2025. The risk of bias was assessed using the Edwards score. We used a random-effects model. The protocol of this review was registered in the Open Science Framework.
resultsThe systematic review included 21 studies, while the meta-analysis included four studies. In a sample of 1,219 subjects in the control group and 350 legal and illegal substances consumers, there is a negative and significant association of substances consumption on academic achievement [SMD = - 0.61 (95% CI - 0.84 to - 0.38; p = 0.008). In a subgroup analysis, a sample of 2,479 subjects in the control group and 7,134 alcohol consumers, there is a non-statistically significative association of alcohol consumption on academic achievement [SMD = - 0.24 (95% CI -0.51 to 0.04; p = 0.073).
conclusionsDespite the limitations of this study, this systematic review provides quantitative evidence on the relationship between legal and illegal use of substances among university students and academic achievement. Specifically, we found a significant medium association of substance use in general and a small effect for alcohol consumption on academic achievement. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.