Socio-Demographic and Clinical Profiles of Cannabis Abusers Admitted for Treatment in a Tertiary Healthcare Facility in Uyo, South-South Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Cannabis is one of the commonly abused psychoactive substances worldwide. The increasing abuse of this psychoactive substance is recognized as a significant public health problem in many developing countries. A proper assessment of the patterns and trends of cannabis use disorders will be useful because of the increasing number of cannabis abusers worldwide and demand for appropriate treatment.
 Aims: This study examined the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of cannabis abusers admitted for treatment in a tertiary healthcare institution in the South-South region of Nigeria.
 Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study involving 105 subjects of cannabis abusers admitted for treatment over a one year period from August 2017 to July 2018. Socio-demographic and clinical variables were obtained from a careful chart review using a 35 item questionnaire. Diagnoses were made according to the International Classification of Disease Criteria (ICD-10).
 Results: 105 subjects were included in this study. The mean age of patients was 29.71±8.2. The mean age of initiation of substance use was 19.05±3.0 years. Males were predominantly involved in cannabis abuse practices. The age of initiation of substance use was significantly different between the male and female subjects (t=-2.86, P=.009). The age of initiation and duration of substance use was significantly related to the risk of developing substance dependence and psychotic symptoms.
 Conclusion: Cannabis was commonly abused by people who were often unemployed, single, young males involved in multiple drug abuse. The low mean duration of use, multiple substance abuses together with increasing frequency of psychiatric morbidity forms a major challenge for our mental health care services. There is the need for preventive, curative, and rehabilitative strategies to reduce the public health impact of this scourge.