Socio demographic profile of substance user in de-addiction centre

Substance use patterns are notorious for their ability to change over time. Both licit and illicit substance use cause serious public health problems. While lack of a comprehensive policy has been repeatedly highlighted and various suggestions made to address the range of problems caused by substance use.

To study the socio-demographic profile and the reasons for substance use among patients admitted at De-addiction centre in Belagavi, North Karnataka.

In this cross-sectional study, all the patients admitted at the De-addiction centres during the study period were interviewed. The data was analyzed using Microsoft excel and proportions were used.

A total of 43 substance abusers were interviewed. Majority of the substance abusers (39.6%) were in the age group of 31 to 40 years. Most of the abusers had primary education (41.8%).81.4% of abusers were married and 76.7% were having nuclear type of family. Most of abusers were from lower socio economic status III to V (90.8%). History of substance abuse was observed in 58.1% of the family. Most of the abusers started using substance within 20 years (60.4%), 39.5% people used substance for < 20 years, Alcohol was the most common substance used by abusers (95.4%), followed by tobacco (46.5%). Most of the abusers opined that family related issues were main reason for using substances (34.8%).

Our observations 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.