Abstract
Background: Pharmacological neuroenhancement (PN) is a common healthcare problem at least among students. PN seems to be associated with stressful situations. There is a lack of data about personal characteristics, comorbidities, and coping strategies regarding stress and factors of resilience in students and medical staff.Methods: A web-based survey about the non-medical use of PN drugs with a focus on neuroenhancement was developed and distributed among medical students throughout Germany; the questionnaire was open in April and May of 2020. The survey contained questions about the use of well-known PN drugs, frequency, special purposes, reasons for the use, psychiatric disorders, use of psychotropic drugs apart from PN purposes, and factors of resilience using the brief resilience scale.Results: Data of 1,159 students of medicine were analyzed. The most frequently used substances for PN were coffee (78.8% lifetime prevalence rate), energy drinks (45.7%), caffeine tablets (24.3%), methylphenidate (5.2%), illicit amphetamines (2.0%), and cocaine (1.7%). 98.4% suspected that PN drug use could lead to addiction. PN drug use specifically for PN was significantly associated with the use of (a) any psychotropic drug (other than neuroenhancers), (b) any psychiatric disorder, and (c) higher values of feeling pressure to perform in professional/students' life and in private life as well as (d) the subjective feeling of pressure to perform to be burdening and (e) harmful to one's own health. PN drug use in general was significantly associated with being less resilient. The use of illicit PN drugs, over the counter drugs and prescription drugs was associated with being less resilient.Conclusion: This study indicates that PN with legal and illegal drugs is a widespread phenomenon among German medical students. Users seem to be more often burdened by psychiatric disorders, especially addictive disorders, the perception of stress, pressure to perform and low levels of resilience. These aspects should be considered in further investigation of PN drug use.
Highlights
One of the first and most cited articles in the field of pharmacological neuroenhancement (PN) is titled “Look who is doping” [1]
The findings showed that 23% of the participants used MPH for PN, while the prevalence in the group of 6th year medical students was twice as high as the prevalence in the group of 5th year medical students [16]
The drive to improve cognitive performance can be seen as a common phenomenon in students
Summary
One of the first and most cited articles in the field of pharmacological neuroenhancement (PN) is titled “Look who is doping” [1] It is based on an online poll that the journal Nature distributed among their readers to find out more about the use of methylphenidate, modafinil, and betablockers with the particular intention to enhance one’s own cognitive performance. A similar sample with 206 French medicine and pharmacology students was examined though in an online survey, showing higher prevalence rates of 5.8% for the use of illicit pharmacological neuroenhancers [14]. An online poll conducted in Brazil surveyed a small sample of N = 152 5th and 6th year medical students for their use of alcohol and methylphenidate (MPH). There is a lack of data about personal characteristics, comorbidities, and coping strategies regarding stress and factors of resilience in students and medical staff
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