Original Research Article
Year: 2017 | Month: February | Volume: 7 | Issue: 2 | Pages: 73-81
A Study of Socio-Demographic Profile of Substance Abusers Attending De-Addiction Centres in Kolkata City
Dr. Shikha Murmu1, Dr. Mahendra Singh2, Dr.B. Sengupta3, Dr.Sumanta Dawn4
12nd Year Resident, Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Kolkata
2Senior Resident, Department of Community Medicine & Family Medicine, AIIMS, Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
3Prof. & Head, Dept. of Public Health Administration, All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Kolkata
4Senior Resident, Department of Psychiatry, Malda Medical College, West Bengal
Corresponding Author: Dr. Mahendra Singh
ABSTRACT
Background: Drug dependence is still to be recognized in developing countries as a significant public health problem and literature on the magnitude of this problem is limited. Increasing substance abuse and its impact on physical and psychosocial health is a worldwide public health concern affecting the early youth and subsequently the whole life of the individuals. To plan effective interventions, it is essential to have information on the extent and type of substance abuse among substance abusers and their attitude towards its control.
Objectives:
- To identify the socio-demographic characteristics of the substance abusers.
- To identify the drugs commonly used.
- To find out different triggers leading to addiction in the study population.
Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, all the patients admitted at the six De-addiction centres of Kolkata during the study period were interviewed. The data was tabulated & analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 and the results obtained were expressed in proportions.
Results: A total of 295 patients were included in the study, majority (92.2%) of patients were males. Majority of them were in the age group between 19-30 years (45%). 52.8% of the patients had started taking the drugs before the age of 20 years. The most common substance used was alcohol (49.6%). Most of the addicts are introduced to their substance of abuse by their friends (89.15%).
Conclusions: Our study point towards the vulnerability of younger age towards substance use and hence, it is proposed that the preventive health policies in this regard should be targeted specifically during teenage years.
Key words: Substance Abuse, Age, De-addiction centre, Peer, teenage