Cumulative risk factors for adolescent alcohol misuse and its perceived consequences among 16 to 20 year old adolescents in Switzerland.

Aims: To assess the cumulative impact of environmental and individual factors associated with adolescent alcohol misuse and their correlation with self-reported consequences of drinking.

Method: Cross-sectional school-based survey of a nationally representative sample of 7548 post-mandatory school students and apprentices aged 16-20 years, Switzerland 2002. Alcohol misuse defined by frequency of alcohol use, episodes of drunkenness and driving while drunk.

Effect of training on primary care residents' performance in brief alcohol intervention: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Brief alcohol interventions (BAI) reduce alcohol use and related problems in primary care patients with hazardous drinking behavior. The effectiveness of teaching BAI on the performance of primary care residents has not been fully evaluated.

Methods: A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted with 26 primary care residents who were randomized to either an 8-hour, interactive BAI training workshop (intervention) or a lipid management workshop (control).

Towards a sedentary society: trends in adolescent sport practice in Switzerland (1993-2002).

The rate of overweight and obese children and adolescents is rapidly increasing in developed countries. Although a decrease in sport practice may be one of the several factors implicated, data on recent trends are scarce. This article presents the trends in sport practice among Swiss adolescents between 1993 and 2002, comparing data from two surveys.

Role of high normal gamma-glutamyltransferase level in identifying heavy alcohol use in young men.

The objective of the current study was to determine the predictive value of high normal gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) level as an indication of heavy drinking in young men. In a sample of 577 men attending a one-day army recruitment process mandatory for all Swiss men at age 19 years, GGT level was evaluated as the dependent variable for each of eight dichotomous classifications of individuals on the basis of meeting cut-off criteria for five indexes of alcohol use, two indexes of alcohol-related problems, and one index of body mass. The sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of GGT level in identifying subjects as either heavy drinkers or being overweight were determined.