The Impact of Dietary Habits and Nutrition Knowledge on Harmful Alcohol Use and Nicotine Dependence Among Medical Students: A Single-Center, Cross-Sectional Study

<b>Background:</b> Harmful alcohol use and nicotine dependence are major public health concerns. One group particularly at risk may be medical students, who might resort to substance use as a coping mechanism for stress. Various factors may influence these behaviors, either positively or negatively-among them, dietary knowledge and eating habits. <b>Methods</b>: In this study, we used the KOMPAN questionnaire to assess dietary habits and nutrition knowledge, the AUDIT questionnaire to evaluate problematic alcohol consumption, and the Fagerström Test to assess nicotine dependence. A total of 2801 medical students participated in this study, including 2374 alcohol users and 379 smokers. <b>Results</b>: Smoking students demonstrated significantly lower dietary quality (<i>p</i> < 0.0001) and nutrition knowledge (<i>p</i> = 0.0004). Among alcohol users, lower levels of problematic alcohol consumption were observed in individuals with better dietary quality (<i>p</i> = 0.0006) and higher nutrition knowledge (<i>p</i> < 0.0001). <b>Conclusions</b>: Future research should explore additional factors contributing to the clustering of unhealthy behaviors and the underlying causes of alcohol consumption and poor dietary habits among healthcare professionals.