Revista de investigación y terapia de adicciones

Abstracto

Descriptive national survey of substance use in Nigeria

Taiwo Abosede Adamson, Adegboyega Oyekanmi. Ogunlesi, O lufemi Morakinyo, Akinwande Owuladewa Akinhanmi, Peter Olutunde Onifade, Olayiwola Erinosho, Alfred A Adewuyi, David Adekunle Fasiku, Timothy Olaoluwa Adebowale, Adegboyega Ogunwale, Edward Babatunde Somoye and O lu

Objectives: Epidemiological data on alcohol and drug use in Nigeria were documented since the 1940’s. These were, however, limited to specific population groups, had small sample sizes or did not adequately take into consideration the diverse geographical spread of the people, the ethnic diversity and the rural-urban variations. Therefore, this study aimed to survey the prevalence rates of drug use across all the geopolitical zones, including the sociocultural and the urban-rural divides, in Nigeria.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of drug use was conducted in 2009 among Nigeria population aged 15-64 years and spread across the 6 geopolitical zones of the country. Adapted version of the World Health Organization Model Student Questionnaire was used for data collection. Analysis was descriptive.

Results: The response rate of 88.9% yielded 10,609 records for analysis. The majority of the respondents were males (52%), aged 25-34 years (29.6%), married (65.2%) and residing in the rural localities (53.0%). The drug with the highest prevalence rate of use was alcohol, (39%) lifetime, (30.3%) 12-month and (24.5%) 30 day. Cannabis was the most commonly used illicit drug with a lifetime use of 6.6%, 12-month of 2.6%, and 30 day of 1.8%. The prevalence rates of inhalants use were 6.8% lifetime, 3.9% 12-month and 3.2% 30-day. The geopolitical zones with the highest prevalence use of inhalants were the South-East and the North-Central zones. Tranquilizer use was highest in the South-West. Higher rates of drug use were generally associated more with the male gender and the urban localities.

Conclusion: The pattern of drug use in Nigeria varies across the geopolitical zones; therefore, the approaches and foci of drug intervention measures will also have to vary across this divide with considerations for the socio-cultural norms.