Alcohol use among adolescents in Macao during COVID-19: a latent class analysis

Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of past alcohol use and to evaluate patterns of alcohol use among Chinese adolescents. Methods: 1,707 students from 11 high schools in Macao (SAR) China self-reported their alcohol use measured by the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT). Latent class analysis and multinomial logistic regression were conducted to examine patterns of drinking and their correlates with alcohol-related use problems. Results: The prevalence of past alcohol use and problematic alcohol use (AUDIT ≥8) was 26.0% and 3.2%, respectively. Latent class analysis demonstrated that a five-class model best fit the participants’ alcohol use patterns, including a heavy consumption group, two moderate consumption groups and two light consumption groups. Compared with the light consumption group, adolescents over the age of 15 (vs. 15 years or younger) were more likely to be classified into the moderate consumption group with mild negative consequences, and adolescents who smoked were more likely to be classified into all other groups vs. the reference group. Conclusion: The results suggest a high prevalence of alcohol use and several sub-groups were at increased odds of alcohol related harms.