Table 2.
National estimated prevalence and trend of current alcohol use among the adolescent population in South Korea using the KYRBS, 2005–2021
| Characteristics | Current alcohol use, weighted % (95% CI) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–2008 | 2009–2012 | 2013–2015 | 2016–2019 | 2020 (early pandemic) | 2021 (mid pandemic) | |
| Overall | 26.8 (26.4–27.1) | 20.3 (20.0–20.6) | 16.2 (15.8–16.6) | 15.4 (15.1–15.7) | 10.5 (10.1–10.9) | 10.6 (10.1–11.0) |
| Sex | ||||||
| Male | 28.2 (27.7–28.6) | 23.2 (22.8–23.6) | 19.7 (19.2–20.2) | 17.4 (17.0–17.8) | 11.9 (11.3–12.6) | 12.3 (11.7–12.9) |
| Female | 25.2 (24.7–25.7) | 17.1 (16.7–17.5) | 12.4 (11.9–12.8) | 13.2 (12.8–13.6) | 8.9 (8.4–9.5) | 8.7 (8.2–9.2) |
| Grade | ||||||
| 7th–9th grade (middle school) | 17.2 (16.9–17.5) | 11.9 (11.7–12.2) | 8.0 (7.8–8.3) | 7.3 (7.1–7.5) | 5.3 (5.0–5.6) | 5.5 (5.2–5.9) |
| 10th–12th grade (high school) | 38.5 (37.9–39.1) | 28.6 (28.1–29.2) | 23.9 (23.2–24.6) | 22.4 (21.9–22.9) | 15.7 (14.9–16.4) | 15.8 (15.1–16.7) |
| Region of residence | ||||||
| Rural | 26.2 (25.7–26.6) | 19.5 (19.1–20.0) | 15.3 (14.7–15.8) | 14.1 (13.8–14.5) | 9.6 (9.0–10.3) | 9.6 (9.0–10.2) |
| Urban | 27.3 (26.7–27.9) | 21.0 (20.5–21.5) | 16.3 (16.3–17.5) | 16.4 (16.0–16.8) | 11.1 (10.5–11.8) | 11.2 (10.6–11.9) |
| Smoking | ||||||
| No | 20.0 (19.7–20.3) | 14.2 (14.0–14.5) | 11.3 (11.0–11.6) | 11.8 (11.6–12.1) | 8.0 (7.7–8.4) | 8.1 (7.8–8.5) |
| Yes | 74.9 (74.2–75.7) | 65.5 (64.7–66.2) | 65.5 (64.6–66.4) | 69.3 (68.4–70.2) | 65.2 (62.8–67.6) | 64.4 (62.3–66.5) |
| Substance use | ||||||
| No | 26.3 (26.0–26.7) | 20.0 (19.7–20.3) | 16.0 (15.6–16.4) | 15.2 (14.9–15.5) | 10.4 (9.9–10.8) | 10.5 (10.0–10.9) |
| Yes | 48.4 (46.2–50.6) | 44.6 (42.6–46.6) | 45.3 (42.0–48.7) | 40.7 (38.4–43.1) | 26.5 (22.0–31.6) | 25.6 (20.6–31.3) |
| Characteristics | Trends in current alcohol use | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trend in prepandemic, β (95% CI)a | Trend after the pandemic, β (95% CI)a | Trend difference, βdiff (95% CI) | OR (95% CI)b | |
| Overall | − 0.297 (− 0.308 to − 0.285) | − 0.130 (− 0.143 to − 0.118) | 0.167 (0.150–0.184) | 0.646 (0.620–0.673) |
| Sex | ||||
| Male | − 0.255 (− 0.268 to − 0.242) | − 0.125 (− 0.140 to − 0.111) | 0.130 (0.111–0.149) | 0.654 (0.624–0.686) |
| Female | − 0.353 (− 0.369 to − 0.336) | − 0.138 (− 0.155 to − 0.121) | 0.215 (0.191–0.239) | 0.634 (0.599–0.670) |
| Grade | ||||
| 7th–9th grade (middle school) | − 0.413 (− 0.426 to − 0.400) | − 0.099 (− 0.118 to − 0.080) | 0.314 (0.291–0.337) | 0.724 (0.685–0.765) |
| 10th–12th grade (high school) | − 0.316 (− 0.331 to − 0.301) | − 0.126 (− 0.141 to − 0.111) | 0.190 (0.169–0.211) | 0.647 (0.616–0.680) |
| Region of residence | ||||
| Rural | − 0.320 (− 0.335 to − 0.306) | − 0.129 (− 0.146 to − 0.112) | 0.191 (0.169–0.213) | 0.647 (0.610–0.685) |
| Urban | − 0.281 (− 0.289 to − 0.264) | − 0.132 (− 0.150 to − 0.115) | 0.149 (0.127 to 0.171) | 0.644 (0.609–0.680) |
| Smoking | ||||
| No | − 0.273 (− 0.284 to − 0.261) | − 0.127 (− 0.140 to − 0.114) | 0.146 (0.129–0.163) | 0.654 (0.628–0.681) |
| Yes | − 0.121 (− 0.141 to − 0.102) | − 0.059 (− 0.083 to − 0.035) | 0.062 (0.031–0.093) | 0.816 (0.751–0.886) |
| Substance use | ||||
| No | − 0.301 (− 0.312 to − 0.289) | − 0.129 (− 0.142 to − 0.117) | 0.172 (0.155–0.189) | 0.648 (0.623–0.675) |
| Yes | − 0.106 (− 0.154 to − 0.058) | − 0.193 (− 0.254 to − 0.132) | − 0.087 (− 0.165 to − 0.009) | 0.513 (0.416–0.633) |
Numbers in bold indicate a significant difference (P < 0.05)
CI confidence interval, KYRBS Korea youth risk behavior web-based survey, OR odds ratio
aEstimated β was calculated using linear regression, and this model included the KYRBS cycle (2005–2008, 2009–2012, 2013–2015, 2016–2019, 2020 and 2021) as a continuous variable
bEstimated OR was derived using logistic regression, and this model included the KYRBS cycle (2016–2019 versus 2020–2021) as a categorical variable