Use of illicit drugs by adolescents and young adults of an urban settlement in Brazil

Guimarães, Rafael Alves; Souza, Márcia Maria de; Caetano, Karlla Antonieta Amorim; Teles, Sheila Araujo; Matos, Marcos André de

doi:10.1590/1806-9282.64.02.114

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Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira

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ORIGINAL ARTICLES • Rev. Assoc. Med. Bras. 64 (2) • Feb 2018 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9282.64.02.114 copy

Use of illicit drugs by adolescents and young adults of an urban settlement in Brazil

Uso de drogas ilícitas por adolescentes e adultos jovens de um assentamento urbano no Brasil

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Summary

Objective:

To estimate the prevalence and factors associated with illicit drug use by adolescents and young adults of a formal urban settlement.

Method:

Cross-sectional study including adolescents and young adults 12-24 years of an urban settlement in the Midwest Region of Brazil. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using Stata, version 12.0. We used Poisson regression model to estimate the factors associated with illicit drug use.

Results:

Of the total participants (n=105), 27.6% (95CI 20.0-36.9%) had used illicit drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, crack, LSD and inhalants. The consumption of these substances was associated with male gender, use of body piercing and/or tattoos, licit drug use and self-report of signs and/or symptoms of sexually transmitted infections.

Conclusion:

High prevalence of illicit drug use was found in the individuals investigated, ratifying the presence of risk factors to the vulnerability of the settlers to use these substances in the urban settlement population.

Keywords:
Street Drugs; Adolescent; Young Adult; Urban Area

Variables	Illicit drug use		PR^† † Prevalence ratio; , crude (95CI)^‡ ‡ 95% Confidence interval;	p	PR^† † Prevalence ratio; , adjusted^§ § Adjusted by sex, age, use of body piercing/tattoo, licit drug use, and signs/symptoms of STI; (95CI)^‡ ‡ 95% Confidence interval;	p
Variables	n/Total*	%
Sex
Female	7/44	15.9	1.0		1.0
Male	22/61	36.1	2.3 (1.1-4.9)	0.04	2.6 (1.3-5.2)	<0.01
Age (years)
12-18	16/77	20.8	1.0		1.0
19-24	13/28	46.4	2.2 (1.2-4.0)	<0.01	1.1 (0.7-1.8)	0.62
Education (years)
≤ 6	8/27	29.6	1.0		-
> 6	21/78	26.9	0.90 (0.45-1.81)	0.78	-	-
Marital status of the parents
Married/Common law partners	9/44	20.4	1.0		-
Single/separated/widowed	20/61	32.9	1.60 (0.80-3.18)	0.18	-	-
Formal or informal employment
No	13/70	20.0	1.0		1.0
Yes	15/35	42.9	2.2 (1.2-4.1)	<0.01	1.1 (0.7-1.7)	0.80
Criminal records^\|\| \|\| Throughout life; UBS: Basic Health Unit; STI: sexually transmitted infections.
No	24/97	24.7	1.0		1.0
Yes	5/8	62.5	2.5 (1.3-4.8)	<0.01	1.9 (1.0-3.6)	0.06
Use of body piercing/tattoos
No	7/54	13.0	1.0		1.0
Yes	22/51	43.1	3.3 (1.6-7.1)	<0.01	2.6 (1.2-5.6)	0.01
Licit drug use^\|\| \|\| Throughout life; UBS: Basic Health Unit; STI: sexually transmitted infections.
No	3/46	6.5	1.0		1.0
Yes	26/59	44.1	6.8 (2.2-21.0)	<0.01	3.4 (1.1-11.6)	0.04
Signs and/or symptoms of STI^\|\| \|\| Throughout life; UBS: Basic Health Unit; STI: sexually transmitted infections.
No	19/81	23.9	1.0		1.0
Yes	9/21	42.9	1.8 (1.0-3.4)	0.06	1.7 (1.1-2.8)	0.03
User of UBS (public health service)
Yes	20/68	29.4	1.0		-

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[1] *Correspondence: Address: Rua Prudente de Morais, Qd. 1, lote 168, Parque Anhanguera II, Goiânia, GO - Brasil, Postal code: 74000-000. rafaelalvesg5@gmail.com