Abstract
To determine the frequency of use of various psychoactive drugs among medical students in an urban setting, and to assess the risk category and intervention needs. The descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from January to June 2018 at four medical education institutions of Karachi; 2 each randomly selected from registered public and private sectors. From the clinical classes of each institution, fourth year was randomly chosen by lottery method. Data was collected using the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test version 3.0. Data was analysed using SPSS 20. Of the 445 respondents, 270(60.7%) were male and 175(39.3%) were females. The overall mean age was 21.3±1.7 years (range: 17-27 years). Of the total, 273(61.3%) had never used any psychoactive substance, 97(21.8%) had used at least one, 34(7.6%) at least two, 23(5.2%) three, while 18(4%) had tried four or more psychoactive drugs in their lifetime. The most commonly used drug was tobacco, reportedly used by 117(26.3%) respondents, and, among them, 40(34%) were in low risk/no intervention category, 71(60.6%) in moderate risk/brief intervention category and 6(5.1%) in high risk/intensive treatment category. The use of psychoactive drug was significantly more in male compared to female students(p<0.05). Tobacco was the most commonly used psychoactive drug among medical students though the use of cocaine, cannabis, alcohol, amphetamine, inhalants and sedatives was also significant. Psychoactive drug use was more common in males compared to females.
Highlights
The non-medical use of dependence-producing drugs is not a new phenomenon[1], and it is associated with a significant public health burden
Alcohol and illicit drugs are among the top 20 risk factors for ill-health identified by the World Health
Some million people who use drugs suffer from drug use disorders
Summary
The non-medical use of dependence-producing drugs is not a new phenomenon[1], and it is associated with a significant public health burden. Alcohol and illicit drugs are among the top 20 risk factors for ill-health identified by the World Health. According to a WHO drug report, about 275 million people worldwide, almost 5.6%. Of the global population aged 15-64 years, used drugs at least once during 2016. Some million people who use drugs suffer from drug use disorders. 13.8 million young people used cannabis in the preceding year, equivalent to a rate of 5.6%3. Illicit drug dependence directly accounted for 20million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs)[4]
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