Sociodemographic and Clinical Characteristics of Patients Admitted to the Addiction Management Unit

Overview

Substance use disorder (SUD) is a dynamic process that changes constantly over time with new trends of drug dependence emerge every now and then, thus timely information about trends in psychoactive substance use could yield tailored interventions and reduce potential harms. Identifying personal, social, and demographic characteristics of patients with this disorder at the local, regional, and national levels helps physicians, health authorities, and policy-makers detect early emerging trends and enable them better plan and implement prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation programs. This study aims to identify sociodemographic, personal characteristics, as well as patterns of illicit drug abuse in patients admitted for addiction treatment.

Substance use disorder (SUD) is a complex condition in which there is uncontrolled use of a substance despite its harmful consequences. People with SUD have an intense focus on using a certain substance(s) such as alcohol, tobacco, or illicit drugs, to the point where the person's ability to function in day-to-day life becomes impaired. People keep using the substance even when they know it is causing or will cause problems. Drug use brings with it the likelihood of several negative health consequences. These can include a wide range of physical and mental health disorders, foremost of which are dependence, HIV infection, hepatitis-related liver diseases, overdose and premature death. The problem of substance use is becoming one of the most serious and rapidly growing phenomena all over the world. It accounts for substantial global morbidity, mortality, and financial and social burden. According to Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study, there were an estimated 494,000 drug-related deaths attributable to the use of drugs in 2019. In 2020, 1 in every 18 people aged 15-64 worldwide - an estimated 284 million people (5.6 per cent of the population) - had used a drug in the past 12 months. However, the coverage of interventions for the treatment of drug use disorders remains low overall. Implementation of scientific evidence-based drug prevention interventions remains low as well, especially in middle- and low-income countries. In Egypt, SUD is a serious public health threat. Recent studies have demonstrated increases in the prevalence of the use of tobacco, illegal drugs, and over-the-counter drugs, particularly among youth. Drug treatment registers are often used as a proxy indicator of treatment demand. This information is useful for analysis of service utilization and can be used as an indicator of trends in prevalence and patterns of high-risk drug consumption. Assiut University Hospital is the biggest hospital in Upper Egypt, and it provides health services for Assiut city and most of the neighboring governorates. Addiction management unit of Assiut University Hospital contains 16 beds, based on paid service and about 400 patients have been admitted per year. SUD is a dynamic process that changes constantly over time with new trends of drug dependence emerge every now and then, thus timely information about trends in psychoactive substance use could yield tailored interventions and reduce potential harms. Identifying personal, social, and demographic characteristics of patients with this disorder at the local, regional, and national levels helps physicians, health authorities, and policy-makers detect early emerging trends and enable them better plan and implement prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation programs. This study aims to identify sociodemographic, personal characteristics, as well as patterns of illicit drug abuse in patients admitted for addiction treatment.