The Use of Non-Prescribed Prescription Drugs and Substance Use Among College Students: A 9-Year Follow-Up Cohort Study

Abstract

The use of non-prescribed prescription drugs (NPPD) is common in post-modern societies and a significant proportion of youth consume NPPD concomitantly to other drugs. We studied the prevalence of this consumption among university students in Spain, and its relationship to different patterns of alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis use. A cohort study among university students (n=1,380) (2005-2015) was carried out. Students completed self-administered questionnaires at initial (n=1,363, 98.7%), at 2 years (n=875, 75%) and 9 years of follow-up (n=415, 30.5%). Consumption of medicines (last 15 days), risky alcohol consumption (RC), heavy episodic drinking (HED), and tobacco and cannabis use were measured. Multilevel logistic regressions for repeated measures were generated using consumption of medicines with or without medical prescription as dependent variables. Prevalence of RC, HED, tobacco and cannabis had significant reductions during the follow-up. The use of NPPD increased over time, from 35.5% and 33.3% at 18 and 22 years old, respectively, to 49.6% at 27 years old. The highest rates were found among cannabis, tobacco, RC and HED users. For females, cannabis and RC constitute signitifant risk factors for use of NPPD. Conversely, for males, tobacco and cannabis were risk factors for such use of medicines. Later onset of alcohol consumption constitutes a protective factor for females. Our results reveal high prevalence of NPDD among university students. Those who consume NPPD are-at the same time-more likely to be alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis users than those who take medication under prescription. Preventive strategies should be reinforced and focused on this target population to decrease these high levels of poly-consumption.

Comparison of Longitudinal and Cross-Sectional Approaches in Studies on Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Related to Non-Medical Tranquilizer Use

“…The non-medical use practices entail the intake of tranquilizers without medical prescription, non-adhering to physician indications of use, and/or storage or sharing of tranquilizer leftover [ 2 ]. Self-medication with psychoactive drugs can take place by using old prescriptions or sharing those drugs with other individuals [ 3 , 4 ]. Non-adherence to tranquilizer treatment occurs when taking the drug in a dose higher or lower than prescribed and for a shorter or longer period than recommended [ 5 , 6 , 7 ].…”

Validation of the Arabic and French Versions of a Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) Questionnaire on Tranquilizer Misuse

“…Tranquilizers are misused when taken without medical prescription through sharing the drugs with someone else or using an old prescription [ 7 , 8 ]. Even when prescribed by a physician, tranquilizers can be misused if the patient fails to adhere to the instructions of use when skipping doses or taking the tranquilizers upon recall, using higher or lower dosages than prescribed, and/or extending or curtailing the treatment duration other than prescribed [ 3 , 4 , 9 , 10 ].…”