Substance Abuse Patterns in Brick Industry Workers Detection and Evaluation

Abstract

Background: Drug abuse became an alarming problem in the last years in Egypt and many other countries. Some studies had examined the prevalence of substance abuse among school and university students, but few have assessed workers in workplaces which can pose major risks to the health and productivity of workers. The aim of this work is to estimate the prevalence of substance abuse among a sample of workers, to explore various behavioral and psychological manifestations. Methods: This is a cross - sectional study performed in one of the brick industries in Giza governorate in Egypt. It included 481 workers from different sections in the industry. Data were coded and entered using the statistical package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. The mean age of the participants was 34.85 ± 13.50 with a minimum of 6 years and maximum 87 years old. Results: Results showed high prevalence of various psychosocial problems among workers which were highest between 21 and 40 years old. Symptoms included poor concentration, depression, stress, suicidal and guilty thoughts, mood swings, aggressive behavior, anxiety and disturbed social relationships. Concerning abuse pattern, 47.3 % of employees were abusing cannabinoids, 19.2 % were abusing tramadol and 8.3 % were abusing both. Workers performing physical work recorded the highest rate of abuse. In addition, 50.5 % of workers are smokers which was the highest independent variable related to substance abuse. Conclusions: It is important to develop substance abuse policy, raise awareness regarding their health effects and serious impacts on individual’s physical, psychosocial and behavioral integrity. Drug testing in workplace is a must to ensure community safety.