Prevalence and associated factors of non-medical use of prescription drugs among adolescents in secondary schools in Buea, Cameroon: a cross-sectional study

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Abstract

Background

The non-medical use of prescription drugs is a growing public health problem worldwide. Recent trends in Cameroon show that the use of psychoactive substances, among which are prescription drugs by adolescents is becoming a public health issue and is linked to juvenile delinquency and violence in schools. However, there is a paucity of data on the burden of this phenomenon among adolescent secondary school students in the country. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with the use of non-prescription drugs in secondary schools in Buea, South West region of Cameroon.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study from 1 ^st February 2021 to 30 ^th April 2021. Secondary school students were recruited using a multistage stratified cluster sampling. A modified and standardized version of the World Health Organization student drug-use survey model questionnaire was used. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Buea (No. 2021/1273–02/UB/SG/IRB/FHS). The Statistical Package for Social Sciences, IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 25.0. was used for data analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the sociodemographic characteristics of participants. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to explore associated factors of non-medical use of prescription drugs.

Results

A total of 570 participants were enrolled for the study, and 510 participants responded giving a response rate of 89.5%. The prevalence of non-medical use of prescription drugs was 15.3%, tramadol being the most used. Motivators for non-medical use of prescription drugs were “to work longer”, “to be courageous”, and “curiosity”. Logistic regression results showed that alcohol consumption [OR 3.68; 95% CI: 2.24–6.06; p < 0.001], smoking [OR 6.00; 95% CI: 3.07–11.75; p < 0.001] and use of illicit drugs [OR 10.85; 95% CI: 5.48–21.48; p < 0.001] were independent factors associated with non-medical use of prescription drugs.

Conclusion

Non-medical use of prescription drugs was prevalent among adolescent secondary school students in Buea, Cameroon. Tramadol is the main drug of prescription involved. Our results can guide policymakers on strategies to screen, prevent and control non-medical use of prescription drugs among secondary school students in Cameroon.

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Most cited references 21

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Nonmedical use of prescription drugs in the European Union

Scott Novak, Anders P. Hakansson, Jose Martínez-Raga … (2016)

Background Nonmedical prescription drug use (NMPDU) refers to the self-treatment of a medical condition using medication without a prescriber’s authorization as well as use to achieve euphoric states. This article reports data from a cross-national investigation of NMPDU in five European Countries, with the aim to understand the prevalence and characteristics of those engaging in NMPDU across the EU. Methods A parallel series of self-administered, cross-sectional, general population surveys were conducted in 2014. Data were collected using multi-stage quota sampling and then weighted using General Exponential Model. A total of 22,070 non-institutionalized participants, aged 12 to 49 years, in 5 countries: Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, and Sweden. Lifetime and past-year nonmedical use of prescription medications such as stimulants, opioids, and sedatives were ascertained via a modified version of the World Health Organization’s Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Information about how the medications were acquired for NMPDU were also collected from the respondent. Results Lifetime and past-year prevalence of nonmedical prescription drug use was estimated for opioids (13.5 and 5.0 %), sedatives (10.9 and 5.8 %), and stimulants (7.0 and 2.8 %). Germany exhibited the lowest levels of NMPDU, with Great Britain, Spain, and Sweden having the highest levels. Mental and sexual health risk factors were associated with an increased likelihood of past-year nonmedical prescription drug use. Among past-year users, about 32, 28, and 52 % of opioid, sedative, and stimulant nonmedical users, respectively, also consumed illicit drugs. Social sources (sharing by friends/family) were the most commonly endorsed methods of acquisition, ranging from 44 % (opioids) to 62 % (sedatives). Of interest is that Internet pharmacies were a common source of medications for opioids (4.1 %), stimulants (7.6 %), and sedatives (2.7 %). Conclusions Nonmedical prescription drug use was reported across the five EU countries we studied, with opioids and sedatives being the most prevalent classes of prescription psychotherapeutics. International collaborations are needed for continued monitoring and intervention efforts to target population subgroups at greatest risk for NMDU.

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Substance use among secondary school students in an urban setting in Nigeria: prevalence and associated factors.

OY Oshodi, OF Aina, AT Onajole (2010)

Substance use continues to be major risk behaviour among youth, with consequent physical and/or mental health complications. The current study aimed to establish the prevalence and associated factors of substance use among selected secondary school students in Lagos. This was a cross-sectional and descriptive study among selected secondary school students in Lagos. Permission was obtained from appropriate school authorities; as well as consent from each participant. The WHO Students' Drug Use Questionnaire which had been previously validated in the country was used to obtain the drug use information from the subjects. Analysis of the data was conducted using Epi-info version 5. A total of 402 students were studied - of whom 43.5% (n=175) were males and 56.5% (n=227) females. The mean age was 15.9 years. 83.1% (n=334) lived with their parents, 7.6% (n=31) with their relatives and 7.2% (n=29) with friends. The commonest substances used by the subjects were caffeine (kolanut and coffee), mild analgesics (paracetamol and aspirin) and the antimalarials, most especially chloroquine with lifetime use prevalence rates of 85.7%, 73.8% and 65.7% respectively. Generally, the prevalence rates for lifetime use of the substances varied from 3.8% (n=14) for Heroin and Cocaine to 85.7% (n=344) for psychostimulants; and for current use varying from 2% (n=8) to 56.5% (n=213). For the so called "gateway drugs": alcohol and tobacco, their lifetime use prevalence rates were 9.2% (n=34) and 5.2% (n=19) while the lifetime use prevalence rate for cannabis was 4.4% (n=16). In terms of gender, the prevalence rates for males were generally higher than for their female counterparts except for antibiotics, analgesics, heroin and cocaine. Reasons for using substances included relief from stress, 43.5% (n=175), self medication to treat illness, 23.8% (n=96), and to stay awake at night to study, 14.9% (n=60). Substance use was found to be prevalent among students in this study involving over-the-counter and socially acceptable substances as well as the abuse of illicit substances. It is advocated that there is a need to review existing health educational programmes.

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Substance abuse among students in selected secondary schools of an urban community of Oyo-state, South West Nigeria: implication for policy action

Ajibola Idowu, Ayodele Aremu, Aderonke Olumide … (2018)

Background Substance abuse among youths is fast becoming a global Public Health concern. Objectives This study assessed the prevalence and factors associated with substance abuse in selected public schools in Ogbomoso, South-West Nigeria. Methods Cross-sectional study design and multi-stage sampling method were utilized among 249 study participants who gave informed consent/assent. Data were collected using facilitated, self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics using the Chi-Square test were carried out at p<0.05. Results The mean age of our respondents was 16.3±2SD; 40.0% of them had positive attitude to substance abuse while 21.7% had ever consumed alcoholic drinks. In all, 31(26.3%) of the respondents satisfied the criteria used in defining substance abuse. Tramadol was the most commonly abused substance apart from alcohol; reported by 39.0% of the substance abusers. Most (35.5%) of the substance abusers did so believing it could enhance their academic performance. The proportion of respondents who were substance abusers was significantly higher among students who had not received any formal lectures on the subject at school compared to those who had. (47.5% vs 29.7% ;p=0.023). Conclusion Our findings underscore an urgent need to intensify awareness against substance abuse among secondary school students in Nigeria.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Cyrille Nkouonlack: nkouonlack@gmail.com

Alfred Kongnyu Njamnshi: alfred.njamnshi@brainafrica.org

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): BMC Psychiatry

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): BMC Psychiatry

Title: BMC Psychiatry

Publisher: BioMed Central (London )

ISSN (Electronic): 1471-244X

Publication date (Electronic): 25 September 2023

Publication date PMC-release: 25 September 2023

Publication date Collection: 2023

Volume: 23

Electronic Location Identifier: 695

Affiliations

[1 ]Department of Internal Medicine and Paediatrics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Buea, ( https://ror.org/041kdhz15) Molyko, P.O. Box 63, Buea, Cameroon

[2 ]Brain Research Africa Initiative (BRAIN), PO Box 25625, Yaounde, Cameroon

[3 ]Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Douala, ( https://ror.org/02zr5jr81) Douala, Cameroon

[4 ]Psychiatric Department, Military Hospital, Maroua, Cameroon

[5 ]Department of Public Health and Hygiene, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Buea, ( https://ror.org/041kdhz15) Buea, Cameroon

[6 ]Neuroscience Lab, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Yaoundé I, ( https://ror.org/022zbs961) Yaoundé, Cameroon

Article

Publisher ID: 5120

DOI: 10.1186/s12888-023-05120-0

PMC ID: 10521405

PubMed ID: 37749516

SO-VID: 6ce2adcc-56bb-45c1-803e-7ed72e4fd5c4

License:

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.

History

Date received : 23 September 2022

Date accepted : 18 August 2023

Custom metadata

ScienceOpen disciplines: Clinical Psychology & Psychiatry

Keywords: non-medical use,prescription drugs,tramadol,secondary school students,adolescent

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ScienceOpen disciplines: Clinical Psychology & Psychiatry

Keywords: non-medical use, prescription drugs, tramadol, secondary school students, adolescent

Prevalence and associated factors of non-medical use of prescription drugs among adolescents in secondary schools in Buea, Cameroon: a cross-sectional study

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Most cited references 21

Nonmedical use of prescription drugs in the European Union

Substance use among secondary school students in an urban setting in Nigeria: prevalence and associated factors.

Substance abuse among students in selected secondary schools of an urban community of Oyo-state, South West Nigeria: implication for policy action

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