A study to assess the prevalence of substance abuse and its impact among medical students in a medical college
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20233482Keywords:
Alcohol, Anxiety, Smoking, Substance abuseAbstract
Background: Psychoactive drug is an emerging global problem. This is a disturbing matter, especially in the case of medical students, affecting their health and academic performance, which in turn affects the health outcomes of patients. The objectives of our study were to assess the prevalence and impact of substance abuse among medical students.
Methods: This was cross-sectional study conducted in tertiary care center. A pretested semi structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. Medical students who were available during the study period and who were willing to participate were included in the study. A total of 301 students were interviewed. Data was entered and analysed in SPPSS version 22.0. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used for the statistical analysis.
Results: We had a total of 301 responders. Among them, only 70(23.3%) have been a subject to substance abuse. Alcohol was the most abused substance (19.3%). The most common reason for starting these substances was out of curiosity (15.6%). 24.6% of the students have either thought of or tried stopping, however majority of them have not. Out of these students, 10 (3.3%) have experienced withdrawal symptoms.
Conclusions: The substance abuse among youngsters in medical colleges is a highly alarming situation. Proper counselling with planned policies should be implemented to root out this evil among the future doctors which will help in providing better health care services to the people.
Metrics
References
World Health Organization. (n.d.). Drugs (psychoactive). World Health Organization. Available at: https://www.who.int/health-topics/drugs-psychoactive#tab=tab_1. Accessed on 03 July 2023.
Dipu R. Substance Abuse in India. India Today. 2021. Available from: https://www.indiatoday.in/ diu/story/all-you-need-to-know-about-drugs-substance-abuse-in-india-1860644-2021-10-04. Accessed on 17 June 2023.
Kushwaha R, Rauniar G, Koirala B, Mandal N. Prevalence of substance use among undergraduate students in a medical college of Nepal. J Nepal Med Assoc. 2019;57(219):315-9.
Shrestha JTM, Tiwari S, Kushwaha DK, Bhattarai P, Raj R. Prevalence of psychoactive drug use among medical students in a medical college of Nepal. J Nepal Med Assoc. 2020;58(230):717-20.
Arora D. Substance abuse: Impact on Adolescents in India. Project UDAYA. Population Council. 2022. Available from: https://www.projectudaya.in/ substance-abuse-impact-on-adolescents-in-india/. Accessed on 17 June 2023.
American Addiction Centers. Drug Withdrawal Symptoms, Timelines and Treatment. 2023. Available at https://americanaddictioncenters.org/ withdrawal-timelines-treatments. Accessed on 13 August 2023.
Kumar S, Niranjan A, Kumar M. Pattern of substance abuse among undergraduate medical students in Central India: a cross sectional institutional study. Int J Health Sci Res. 2016;6(1):43-8.
Arora A, Kannan S, Gowri S, Choudhary S, Sudarasanan S, Khosla PP. Substance abuse amongst the medical graduate students in a developing country. Indian J Med Res. 2016;143(1):101-3.
Padhy GK, Sahu T, Das S, Parida S. Prevalence and causes of substance abuse among undergraduate medical college students. Indian Med Gazette. 2014;148(8):276-82.
Imran N, Haider II, Bhatti MR, Sohail A, Zafar M. Prevalence of psychoactive drug use among medical students in Lahore. Ann King Edward Med Univ. 2011;17(4):338.
Goel N, Khandelwal V, Pandya K, Kotwal A. Alcohol and tobacco use among undergraduate and postgraduate medical students in India: a multicentric cross-sectional study. Cent Asian J Glob Health. 2015;4(1):187.
Fernandes W, Dias A, Fernandes B, Prasad S, Palha S, Singh N, et al. A study of alcohol consumption and the level of awareness among undergraduate college students in Goa, India. Int J Curr Med Appl Sci. 2017;16(3):143-9.
Jagnany VK, Murarka S, Haider S, Kashyap V, Jagnany AK, Singh SB, et al. Pattern of substance abuse among the undergraduate students in a medical college hostel. Health Popul Perspect Issues. 2008;31(3):212-9.
Caetano R, Clark CL, Greenfield TK. Prevalence, trends, and incidence of alcohol withdrawal symptoms: analysis of general population and clinical samples. Alcohol Health Res World. 1998;22(1):73.
Gupta M, Gokarakonda SB, Attia FN. Withdrawal Syndromes. In: StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023.