The Prevalence and Pattern of Non-Medical Use of Prescription Drugs in Abakaliki, Southeast, Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: The growing of non-medical use of prescription drugs is a global health problem and it has emerged as a particularly dangerous health-behavior among young people. However studies assessing misuse among people in Abakaliki are non-existent. Aim: To determine the prevalence and pattern of non-medical use of prescription drugs in Abakaliki. Materials and method: This was a cross-sectional study that involved 420 participants. The respondents completed an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire assessing past-year prevalence and pattern of non-medical use of five classes of prescription drugs. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results: The prevalence of non-medical use of prescription drugs in this study was 38.3%. The mean age of the participants was 22.2 ± 3.8 years with majority of them (38.3%) being within the 19-25 years age bracket. The majority of participants were males (52.1%) whereas female accounted for 47.9% of the respondents. Pain medications such as tramadol, codeine and morphine accounted for majority (73.8%) of unprescribed medication abused by the respondents. This is followed by other medications such as ibuprofen which was 45%. Sleeping medications and stimulants accounted for 28.3% and 27.4% of unprescribed drugs respectively. Similarly, pain medication accounted for majority (74.8%) of prescribed medicines used by the participants for non medicinal purposes. The least abused class of drugs in the prescribed category were sedative/anxiety medications which accounted for just over 18%. To relax or relieve tension is the most common reasons (20.5%) for use of drugs for non medical purposes reported in this study. Other reasons include to improve concentration (16.7%), to get high (10.7%) and for recreation (6.9%). Conclusion: This study shows high prevalence of non medical use of prescription drugs among our study participants in Abakaliki.

Prescription Opioids and New Psychoactive Substances Use in Nigeria: A Systematic Review and Policy Implications

“…The sample sizes ranged from 30 to 3134, while the age range was 10 years and older. Tramadol, codeine, and morphine accounted for the majority of the prescription opioids used for nonmedical purposes among young adults (Anozie et al, 2019;Idowu et al, 2018).…”