An epidemiological study on substance abuse among college students of north India (Kashmir valley)

Abstract

Background: Substance abuse disorder is among the leading public health problems in modern day world as they cause enormous human suffering in terms of morbidity, mortality and economic loss; and threatens the very social fabric of almost all communities around the world and as such is a great threat to the global health, economy and peace. Like most social behaviours the etiology of substance abuse is complex, varying through time, geographical regions and by demographic characteristics. Among young people, students are the most vulnerable group as the initiation into substance abuse first starts during this period. Aims & Objective: To find out the prevalence and pattern of substance abuse and its association with various sociocultural and demographic variables. Material and Methods: Multi-stage random sampling method was adopted to select the study subjects. The study subjects were asked about the substance abuse and related socio-demographic variables by means of WHO model core questionnaire format and results were subjected to statistical analysis. Results: The overall lifetime prevalence of for substance abuse among college students was found to be 31.3%. Male students had significantly higher prevalence of substance abuse as compared to female counterparts(37.5% versus 19.6% respectively).The most common substance being abused was Tobacco products(22.5%) followed by solvents (10.0%), alcohol (6.2%), sedatives (5.9%), cannabis (4.4%), amphetamine products (2.1%), hallucinogens (0.5%) and cocaine (0.3%). Age, gender and family type were found to be strongly associated with substance abuse (p<0.001). Conclusion: Prevalence of substance abuse among college students is high and causes significant problems in this population; therefore there is necessity of targeted interventions to reduce this huge burden.

Substance abuse pattern among medical college students in Tumkur, Karnataka, India: a cross sectional study

“…7 Current study showed age group between 20-23 years as age of initiation of substance abuse .A study by Qadri ss showed Substance abuse was more in age group of 17-19 years among school children .A study in Kashmir showed that student substance abusers were in adult age group than in adolescent group (36.2%). 8 This study showed that III year students constituted the highest percentage among substance abusers (39.4%) and final year students had prevalence of substance abuse (30.3%).A similar study by Datta et al showed 49.74% of prevalence among final year students. Alcohol was single preferred substance of use in our study (36.4%).…”

“…These newer and non-conventional substances are much more harmful and lead to greater morbidity and mortality in people abusing these drugs and especially younger generations. 8 In our Research study, the substance abuse had prevalence of 25.9% among medical students who participated in the study. It is higher than a study by Imran et al where it was found to be 17%.…”

“…13 Students who lived in hostels had higher prevalence of Substance abuse (62.6%).This can explained by the reason where majority of them got access to substances through friends which they meet in hostels .This was also the case in a study by Baba T et all where majority of substance abusers lived in hostels (37%). 8 Majority of Students in our study initiated substance use due to curiosity for drugs (42.4%) followed by peer pressure (38.4%). In a study by Baba TA et al, 26.3% of students initiated due to peer group pressure while in a study by Datta A et al,39.21% of substance abusers initiated due to curiosity for drugs which is almost similar to our study .In a study by chatterjje et al, Majority of medical students initiated tobacco use due to curiosity for it (43.7%) followed by followed by peer pressure (2946%).…”

“…10 Multiple companions of substance abuse was present among 54.5% of substance abusers .It was found to be 35.5% in another study. 8 Since most common source of receiving substances were from friends and peer pressure being important reason for initiation, multiple companions can be expected.…”

“…7 Substance abuse disorders are among the world's leading public health problems in modern day world as they cause enormous human sufferings, in terms of morbidity, mortality, economic loss and threaten the very social fabric of almost all communities around the world. 8 Medical training is identified as full of stress and it is also observed that students undergo tremendous stress during various years of medical training. Stress among students results in impaired judgments, absenteeism, selfmedication, and addiction to substances such as khat chewing, cigarette smoking, and alcohol drinking.…”