A European study on alcohol and drug use among young drivers : The TEND by night study design and methodology

Background. Young individuals are the age group with the highest risk of car accidents. One of main explanations relies on the use of psychoactive substances (alcohol, illegal and medicinal drugs), which are known to be major risk factors of road accidents, and whose consumption is almost universally more common among younger drivers. Although the correlation between psychoactive substances use and decrease in driving performance has been established in controlled experimental or laboratory settings, few studies were conducted in naturalistic circumstances. The TEND by Night project has been designed to evaluate the relationship between driving performance and psychoactive substances assumption in young drivers enrolled at typical places of consumption. Methods/Design. The TEND by Night project, endorsed by the European Commission, is a multidisciplinary, multi-centric, cross-sectional study conducted in six European countries (Italy, Belgium/Netherlands, Bulgaria, Spain, Poland and Latvia). The study population consists of 5000 young drivers aged 16-34 years, attending recreational sites during weekend nights. The intervention is based on the portal survey technique and includes several steps at the entrance and exit of selected sites, including the administration of semi-structured questionnaires, breath alcohol test, several drug assumption test, and measurement of the reaction time using a driving simulator. The main outcome is the difference in reaction time between the entrance and exit of the recreation site, and its correlation with psychoactive substances use. As a secondary outcome it will be explored the relationship between reaction time difference and the amount of consumption of each substance. All analyses will be multivariate. Discussion. The project methodology should provide some relevant advantages over traditional survey systems. The main strengths of the study include the large and multicentric sample, the objective measurement of substance assumption (which is typically self-reported), the application of a portal survey technique and the simultaneous evaluation of several psychoactive substances.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Cigarette smoking in young-adult workers: a cross-sectional analysis from Abruzzo, Italy

<p><strong>Background</strong>: The “Valentino” cross-sectional study is aimed at evaluating the prevalence and pattern of cigarette smoking according to occupational group in a representative sample of workers aged 18-35 years from Abruzzo, Italy. <strong></strong></p><p><strong>Methods</strong>: Randomly selected workers anonymously self-compiled a structured questionnaire containing validated items. Job type was coded according to the International Standard Classification of Occupations.</p><p><strong>Results</strong>: The sample consisted of 3989 workers. Current smoking prevalence was 45.9%, varying across occupational groups and ranged from 37.2% among clerical support workers, up to 57.1% among craft, agricultural and fishery sector workers. After controlling for several potential confounders using logistic regression, craft, agricultural, forestry and fishery workers (adjusted odds ratio 1.65; 95%confidence intervals 1.21-2.27), and call-center operators (1.91; 1.44-2.53) were significantly more likely to be current smokers than professionals and clerical or support workers. Interestingly, when alcohol and cannabis use were included in multivariate analysis, the association between smoking and gender was no longer significant.</p><p><strong>Conclusions</strong>: An independent association was found between specific occupational classes and tobacco smoking, suggesting occupation type should be considered in prioritizing subsets of populations towards which smoking cessation campaigns should be targeted first.</p&gt