Illicit drug use among students of a university in Southern Brazil

Houvèssou, Gbènankpon Mathias; Bierhals, Isabel Oliveira; Flesch, Betina Daniele; Silveira, Mariângela Freitas da

doi:10.11606/S1518-8787.2020054002176

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Original Article • Rev. Saúde Pública 54 • 2020 • https://doi.org/10.11606/S1518-8787.2020054002176 copy

Illicit drug use among students of a university in Southern Brazil

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE

To describe drug consumption and the co-occurrence use of more than one illegal drug as well as associated factors in freshmen at a public university in Southern Brazil.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study with census of students entering undergraduate courses in 2017. A total of 1,788 university students answered questions about illicit drug use. For analysis, ordinal logistic regression was used.

RESULTS

Marijuana was the most consumed drug (lifetime: 42.1%; 30-day use: 22.7%), followed by hallucinogens (lifetime: 13.1%, 30-day use: 2.8%). Rates for lifetime use of 0, 1 and 2 or more drugs were 56.2%, 23.3% and 20.4%, respectively, and were associated with men (OR = 2.2; 95%CI:1.4–3.5), being at least 23 years old (OR = 2.7; 95%CI: 1.4–5.1), under 18 years old first experimentation with drugs (OR = 2.3; 95%CI: 1.3–3.9) and living with friends (OR = 2.0; 95%CI: 1.2–3.4). Rates for 30-day use of 0, 1 and 2 or more drugs were 76.8%; 18.1% and 5.1%, respectively, and were associated with being single, separated or widowed (OR = 3.2; 95%CI: 1.4–7.0), lower socioeconomic classes (OR = 0.3; 95%CI: 0.1–1.1; p = 0.001), under 18 years old first experimentation with drugs (OR = 1.8; 95%CI: 1.1–2.9) and living with friends (OR = 1.8 95%CI: 1.2–2.8).

CONCLUSION

Results indicate that students are at greater risk of illicit drug-related health problems. Thus, a better understanding of this consumption should be pursued, as well as the development of a prevention plan.

Young Adult; Universities; Street Drugs; Drug-Seeking Behavior; Risk Factors

Variable	n	%
Sex
Female	975	54.6
Male	811	45.4
Age (years)
18–19	738	41.6
20–22	578	32.5
23 or older	460	25.9
Self-reported skin color
White	1289	72.2
Black/Brown/Other	497	27.8
Marital status
Married or in consensual union	153	8.6
Single/Separated/Divorced/Widowed	1635	91.4
Socioeconomic class (Abep criterion)
A	254	14.8
B	759	44.4
C	623	36.4
D/E	75	4.4
Religion
No	1221	68.3
Yes	566	31.7
Depressive symptoms (PHQ9 ≥9)
No	796	44.5
Yes	992	55.5
Exposure to stressful event
No	1525	85.3
Yes	263	14.7
Academic major
Exact sciences and soil/agricultural sciences	523	29.3
Health and life sciences	312	17.4
Applied social sciences and humanities	617	34.5
Linguistics/arts and letters	336	18.8
Class time
Morning	959	53.6
Evening	829	46.4
Living arrangement
With family or spouse/companion	1104	61.8
Alone	222	12.4
With friends	460	25.8
Age at first alcohol intake
< 18	1463	81.8
≥ 18	325	18.2
Age at first tobacco use
< 18	305	64.2
≥ 18	170	35.8
Age at first illicit drug use
< 18	398	52.0
≥ 18	368	48.0

Level	Variable	Crude analysis			Adjusted analysis

		OR	95%CI	p-value	OR	95%CI	p-value
1	Sex			< 0.001			0.001
	Female	1			1
	Male	1.5	1.2–1.8		2.2	1.4–3.5
1	Age (years)			0.003			0.003*
	18–19	1			1
	20–22	1.4	1.1–1.7		1.3	0.7–2.2
	23 or older	1.3	1.1–1.7		2.7	1.4–5.1
1	Self-reported skin color			0.141			0.061
	Black/Brown/Other	1			1
	White	1.2	0.9–1.4		1.2	0.9–1.4
2	Marital status			0.294			-
	Married or in consensual union	1			-
	Single/Separated/Divorced/Widowed	1.2	0.9–1.7		-	- -
2	Socioeconomic class (Abep criterion)			0.078			0.077
	A	1			1
	B	0.8	0.6–1.0		0.8	0.6–1.0
	C	0.7	0.6–10		0.7	0.5–1.0
	D/E	0.6	0.3–0.9		0.6	0.3–0.9
3	Religion			< 0.001			0.446
	No	2.1	1.7–2.5		1.2	0.7–2.2
	Yes	1			1
3	Depressive symptoms (PHQ9 ≥9)			< 0.001			0.757
	No	1			1
	Yes	1.7	1.4–2.0		0.9	0.6–1.5
3	Exposure to stressful eventz			0.722			-
	No	1			-
	Yes	1.0	0.8–1.3		-	-
3	Age at first alcohol intake			< 0.001			0.506
	< 18	3.6	2.7–4.7		1.4	0.6–3.3
	≥ 18	1			1
3	Age at first tobacco use			< 0.001			0.050
	< 18	2.3	1.6–3.2		1.7	0.9–2.9
	≥ 18	1			1
3	Age at first illicit drug use			< 0.001			0.003
	< 18	2.7	2.0–3.7		2.3	1.3–3.9
	≥ 18	1			1
3	Academic major			< 0.001			0.329
	Exact sciences and soil/agricultural sciences	1			1
	Health and life sciences	1.3	1.0–1.8		2.0	0.9–4.2
	Applied social sciences and humanities	1.3	1.0–1.6		1.3	0.7–2.7
	Linguistics/arts and letters	1.7	1.3–2.3		1.4	0.8–3.1
4	Class time			0.012			0.480
	Morning	1			1
	Evening	1.3	1.0–1.5		1.2	0.7–1.9
4	Living arrangement			< 0.001			0.020
	With family or spouse/companion	1			1
	Alone	1.4	1.1–1.9		2.0	0.9–3.9
	With friends	2.6	2.1–3.2		2.0	1.2–3.4

Level	Variable	Crude analysis			Adjusted analysis

		OR	95%CI	p-value	OR	95%CI	p-value
1	Sex			0.039			0.559
	Female	1			1
	Male	1.3	1.0–1.6		1.1	0.7–1.7
1	Age (years)			0.250			-
	18–19	1			-
	20–22	1.0	0.8–1.3		-	-
	23 or older	0.8	0.6–1.1		-	-
1	Self-reported skin color			0.506			-
	Black/Brown/Other	1			-
	White	1.1	0.9–1.4		-	-
2	Marital status			< 0.001			0.005
	Married or in consensual union	1			1
	Single/Separated/Divorced/Widowed	2.2	1.3–3.5		3.2	1.4–7.0
2	Socioeconomic class (Abep criterion)			0.040			0.001
	A	1			1
	B	0.9	0.6–1.2		0.5	0.3–0.8
	C	0.7	0.5–0.9		0.3	0.2–0.5
	D/E	0.6	0.3–1.2		0.3	0.1–1.1
3	Religion			< 0.001			0.874
	No	1.9	1.5–2.9		0.9	0.6–1.5
	Yes	1			1
3	Depressive symptoms (PHQ9 ≥9)			< 0.001			0.411
	No	1			1
	Yes	1.7	1.3–2.1		1.2	0.8–1.9
3	Exposure to stressful event			0.166			0.732
	No	1			1
	Yes	1.2	0.9–1.7		1.1	0.6–1.8
3	Age at first alcohol intake			< 0.001			0.109
	< 18	3.4	2.3–5.0		1.9	0.9–4.3
	≥ 18	1			1
3	Age at first tobacco use			0.117			0.094
	< 18	1.3	0.9–1.9		0.7	0.4–1.1
	≥ 18	1			1
3	Age at first illicit drug use			< 0.001			0.019
	< 18	1.8	1.3–2.3		1.8	1.1–2.9
	≥ 18	1			1
3	Academic major			0.005			0.557
	Exact sciences and soil/agricultural sciences	1			1
	Health and life sciences	1.1	0.8–1.5		1.6	0.8–3.1
	Applied social sciences and humanities	1.2	0.9–1.6		1.5	0.8–2.8
	Linguistics/arts and letters	1.7	1.3–2.4		1.3	0.7–2.5
4	Class time			0.573			-
	Morning	1			-
	Evening	1.1	0.9–1.3		-	-
4	Living arrangement			< 0.001			0.026
	With family or spouse/companion	1			1
	Alone	1.9	1.4–2.7		1.7	0.9–3.2
	With friends	3.2	2.5–4.1		1.8	1.2–2.8

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[1] Correspondence: Gbènankpon Mathias Houvèssou Rua Marechal Deodoro, 1160, 3º piso – Centro Caixa Postal 464 96020-220 Pelotas, RS, Brasil E-mail: gbemathg@gmail.com