Background and Purpose: Self-medication is an important concern in every part of the world. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and to investigate the associate factors of self-medication among adults in Gorgan, north of Iran.  Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among adults aged 12 years and above who were residents in Gorgan city. The participants were selected using the multi-stage cluster sampling method. SPSS Software and Pearson's chi-squared test were used for data analysis. Results: A total of 592 households with 2050 respondents were visited. The prevalence of self-medication was 67.9%. A larger number of females were self-medicating (71.3%) than males (63.5%). The majority of the respondents self-medicated because of the previous use experience (59.3%). The main indication for self-medication use was headache (60.8%).  Analgesics were the most commonly self-medicated by the respondents (83.9%). Also, 88.6% of the respondents prepared their drug from drugstores. Furthermore, there were significant differences between self-medication and demographics characteristics including gender, age group, marital status, occupation, education level and income (p<0.05). Conclusion: The prevalence of self-medication especially with analgesics is relatively high among adult city-dwellers in Gorgan. So, preventive measures, such as strengthening of the communities awareness on the side effects of self-medication practice and regulation of pharmacies are very important mechanisms to decrease the practice.

Background and objectives: Drug poisoning is a serious global health problem that sometimes requires hospitalization and intensive care. This study investigates clinical and demographic profile of acute poisoning cases admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of 5 Azar hospital in Gorgan, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out on 440 acute drug poisoning cases (224 men and 190 women) who had been admitted to the ICU of the hospital from March 2008 to March 2018. Data were collected with a checklist and using the census method. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS (version 16) and the Chi-square test. Results: Of 440 cases, 54.1% were male and 43.7% were aged 20-29 years. Suicide attempt by selfpoisoning was the most important type of poisoning (70.8%). Benzodiazepines (38.9%) and narcotic drugs (18.6%) overdose was the most common cause of acute poisoning. The majority of incidents (72.7%) were caused by a single drug. The average length of stay in the ICU was 4.21 ± 3.45 days. Acute poisoning-related mortality rate was 4.1%, which was primarily due to the use of narcotic drugs. Conclusion: Benzodiazepines and narcotics are the primary agents involved in acute poisoning requiring critical care. Moreover, methadone-based narcotics are the main cause of drug poisoningrelated mortality.

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Background and objectives: Diabetes is one of the most important diseases in the world. Substance abuse is one of the most important social problems in Iran. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of substance abuse and related factors in type 2 diabetic patients living in a rural area in northeastern Iran. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that was performed in 2018 on all diabetic patients (n=757) living in rural areas of Bandar-e-Gaz, northeastern Iran. Data were collected from patients' records and using a checklist comprising of 20 questions on demographic characteristics, history of type 2 diabetes and history of substance/drug abuse. Data analysis was performed with SPSS software using Pearson's correlation coefficient and the chi-square test. Results: The mean age of diabetic patients was 59.9 ± 8.14 years (range: 12-92 years). The frequency of smoking was 6.7% among the patients. The frequency of substance abuse in diabetic patients was 9.3% (n=70). Among the substance abusers, 76.3% were male and 42.5% were aged 50-59 years. Opium was the most commonly abused substance among diabetics (90%). According to the subjects, diabetes and its complications were the most important reason for substance abuse (74.3%). There was a statistically significant relationship between substance abuse in diabetic patients and some factors including gender, age, marital status, income level, treatment method and presence of diabetic complications (P<0.001). Conclusion: Opium is the most commonly abused substance abuse among type 2 diabetic patients living in rural areas of Bandar-e-Gaz. In addition, substance abuse is more common among middle-aged men, farmers, married individuals as well as those with primary education and diabetes for 2-5 years.

Background: Self-medication is an important concern for health authorities throughout the world. The women of reproductive ages were the most vulnerable groups at risk for self-medication in the society. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency and some associated factors of self-medication in women of reproductive ages in Gorgan, north of Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on 800 women of reproductive age (15-49 years) who were residents in Gorgan, in 2018-2019. Data were collected through home visits and interviews using a checklist with 19 questions. Data were analyzed in SPSS-16 using Pearson's chi-squared test. Results: Self-medication was reported in 68.9% of reproductive ages. The majority of the self-medication was in the age range of 40-49 years (78.5%). The main cause for self-medication was found to be headache (68.6%) and common cold (57.7%). Most frequently, self-medication was related to pain killer drugs (90.6%) and NSAIDs (64.4%). Also, the major causes of selfmedication were found to be the previous use experience (n=307) and availability of drugs at home (n=266). Finally, we found a significant association between self-medication with age, marital status, occupation, education, income, number of children and family size (p<0.05). Conclusion: Self-medication, mainly in pain-killer drugs and NSAIDs were high among women of reproductive age in Gorgan. Therefore, it seems necessary to provide public trainings for all women of reproductive age and train them about the dangers and side effects of self-medication.