Pattern and Severity of Substance Use Disorder among Patients Seeking Treatment at De-addiction Centres in District Amritsar, Punjab
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51957/Healthline_735_2025Keywords:
Alcohol, Depression, Opioid, Peer pressure, Substance use disorder, TobaccoAbstract
Introduction: Worldwide substance use is a major public health problem. There are multiple socio-demographic correlates of substance use disorders. Objective: To study pattern and severity of substance use disorder (SUD) among patients seeking treatment at two de-addiction centres in Amritsar. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 203 patients with substance use disorders seeking treatment selected by total enumerative method in the time period from 25th March – 24th April,2025 using a predesigned and pretested proforma. The severity of substance use disorder was graded as Mild=2-3, Moderate= 4-5 and Severe=6+ using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) criteria for substance use disorder. Results: Mean age of the study participants was 36.4±11.1 years and majority (98%) were males. In order of frequency, substances used were opioids 170 (83.7%), alcohol 77 (37.9%), OTC (over the counter drugs) 42 (20.7%) and tobacco 31 (15.3%). Peer pressure was the commonest reason for the initiation of substance use. By grade, 170 (83.7%) participants had severe, 24 (11.8%) had moderate and 9 (4.5%) participants had mild grade of substance use disorder. Significant associations between severity of substance use disorder and frequency of substance use (OR= 3.61,95% CI=1.10-11.85), clinically diagnosed depression (OR=3.75, 95% CI=1.25-11.19), financial or legal issues faced due to substance use (OR =4.68, 95% CI=2.08-10.50) and current pattern of substance use (OR=4.30 95%, CI=1.50-12.32) were found. Conclusion: Sociocultural factors play a dominant role in substance use disorders. Socio-culturally relevant behaviour change communication and targeted interventions are need of the hour.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Priyanka Devgun, Manisha Nagpal, Davinder Singh Bajwa, Harleen Kaur Ghara, Riya Gupta, Arshanpreet Kaur, Brisleen Kaur, Sehajpreet Kaur, Ivjeet Singh Kalkat, Pooja Khanna, Aditya Raj Malhotra, Kabir Singh Sadana, Akarshit Saini, Rajeshwar A Sharma (Author)
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