Prevalence of consumption of illicit drugs and associated factors from a nationwide epidemiological survey: The Singapore Health and Lifestyle Survey
Introduction: The primary aims of the current nationwide study were to establish the lifetime and 12-month prevalence of consumption of illicit drugs and its correlates in the general population of Singapore. Method: A representative sample of 6509 Singapore residents (Singapore citizens and permane...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2024
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/179860 |
| _version_ | 1826123535727198208 |
|---|---|
| author | Subramaniam, Mythily Koh, Yen Sin Sambasivam, Rajeswari Abdin, Edimansyah Asharani, P. V. Vaingankar, Janhavi Ajit Chua, Boon Yiang Chua, Hong Choon Lee, Cheng Chow, Wai Leng Ma, Stefan Chong, Siow Ann |
| author2 | Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) |
| author_facet | Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) Subramaniam, Mythily Koh, Yen Sin Sambasivam, Rajeswari Abdin, Edimansyah Asharani, P. V. Vaingankar, Janhavi Ajit Chua, Boon Yiang Chua, Hong Choon Lee, Cheng Chow, Wai Leng Ma, Stefan Chong, Siow Ann |
| author_sort | Subramaniam, Mythily |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Introduction: The primary aims of the current nationwide study were to establish the lifetime and 12-month prevalence of consumption of illicit drugs and its correlates in the general population of Singapore. Method: A representative sample of 6509 Singapore residents (Singapore citizens and permanent residents) aged between 15 and 65 years were randomly selected for participation. Questionnaires were administered to assess the consumption of illicit drugs and collect information on correlates. All analyses were weighted to produce prevalence estimates for the consumption of drugs and other measured outcomes. Rao-Scott chi-square test and logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the association of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics with lifetime consumption of illicit drugs. Results: The study was completed with a response rate of 73.2%. The lifetime prevalence of consuming illegal drugs was 2.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.9–2.8) (n=180). Compared to individuals aged 15–34, those aged 50–65 (odds ratio [OR] 0.3, 95% CI 0.2–0.7) had lower odds of lifetime drug consumption. Current smokers (OR 4.7, 95% CI 2.7–8.3) and ex-smokers (OR 5.9, 95% CI 3.2–11.1) had significantly higher odds of lifetime drug consumption than non-smokers. Individuals with hazardous alcohol use (OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.7–6.5) had higher odds of lifetime drug consumption than those without hazardous alcohol use. Conclusion: This is the first nationwide study to examine the prevalence of illicit drug consumption in the general population of Singapore. The results highlight the need to increase awareness of drug consumption in Singapore, especially among parents, teachers, healthcare workers and others who work with young people. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T06:06:15Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/179860 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T06:06:15Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1798602024-09-01T15:38:14Z Prevalence of consumption of illicit drugs and associated factors from a nationwide epidemiological survey: The Singapore Health and Lifestyle Survey Subramaniam, Mythily Koh, Yen Sin Sambasivam, Rajeswari Abdin, Edimansyah Asharani, P. V. Vaingankar, Janhavi Ajit Chua, Boon Yiang Chua, Hong Choon Lee, Cheng Chow, Wai Leng Ma, Stefan Chong, Siow Ann Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) Institute of Mental Health Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, NUS Medicine, Health and Life Sciences Hazardous alcohol use Epidemiology Introduction: The primary aims of the current nationwide study were to establish the lifetime and 12-month prevalence of consumption of illicit drugs and its correlates in the general population of Singapore. Method: A representative sample of 6509 Singapore residents (Singapore citizens and permanent residents) aged between 15 and 65 years were randomly selected for participation. Questionnaires were administered to assess the consumption of illicit drugs and collect information on correlates. All analyses were weighted to produce prevalence estimates for the consumption of drugs and other measured outcomes. Rao-Scott chi-square test and logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the association of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics with lifetime consumption of illicit drugs. Results: The study was completed with a response rate of 73.2%. The lifetime prevalence of consuming illegal drugs was 2.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.9–2.8) (n=180). Compared to individuals aged 15–34, those aged 50–65 (odds ratio [OR] 0.3, 95% CI 0.2–0.7) had lower odds of lifetime drug consumption. Current smokers (OR 4.7, 95% CI 2.7–8.3) and ex-smokers (OR 5.9, 95% CI 3.2–11.1) had significantly higher odds of lifetime drug consumption than non-smokers. Individuals with hazardous alcohol use (OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.7–6.5) had higher odds of lifetime drug consumption than those without hazardous alcohol use. Conclusion: This is the first nationwide study to examine the prevalence of illicit drug consumption in the general population of Singapore. The results highlight the need to increase awareness of drug consumption in Singapore, especially among parents, teachers, healthcare workers and others who work with young people. Ministry of Health (MOH) Ministry of Home Affairs Published version The study was funded by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Health, Singapore. The funding bodies did not have any role in the data collection, data analysis and writing of the manuscript. 2024-08-28T02:07:23Z 2024-08-28T02:07:23Z 2024 Journal Article Subramaniam, M., Koh, Y. S., Sambasivam, R., Abdin, E., Asharani, P. V., Vaingankar, J. A., Chua, B. Y., Chua, H. C., Lee, C., Chow, W. L., Ma, S. & Chong, S. A. (2024). Prevalence of consumption of illicit drugs and associated factors from a nationwide epidemiological survey: the Singapore health and lifestyle survey. Annals of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore, 53(4), 222-232. https://dx.doi.org/10.47102/annals-acadmedsg.2023347 0304-4602 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/179860 10.47102/annals-acadmedsg.2023347 38920179 2-s2.0-85195290562 4 53 222 232 en Annals of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore © Annals, The Academy of Medicine, Singapore. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License. application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Medicine, Health and Life Sciences Hazardous alcohol use Epidemiology Subramaniam, Mythily Koh, Yen Sin Sambasivam, Rajeswari Abdin, Edimansyah Asharani, P. V. Vaingankar, Janhavi Ajit Chua, Boon Yiang Chua, Hong Choon Lee, Cheng Chow, Wai Leng Ma, Stefan Chong, Siow Ann Prevalence of consumption of illicit drugs and associated factors from a nationwide epidemiological survey: The Singapore Health and Lifestyle Survey |
| title | Prevalence of consumption of illicit drugs and associated factors from a nationwide epidemiological survey: The Singapore Health and Lifestyle Survey |
| title_full | Prevalence of consumption of illicit drugs and associated factors from a nationwide epidemiological survey: The Singapore Health and Lifestyle Survey |
| title_fullStr | Prevalence of consumption of illicit drugs and associated factors from a nationwide epidemiological survey: The Singapore Health and Lifestyle Survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prevalence of consumption of illicit drugs and associated factors from a nationwide epidemiological survey: The Singapore Health and Lifestyle Survey |
| title_short | Prevalence of consumption of illicit drugs and associated factors from a nationwide epidemiological survey: The Singapore Health and Lifestyle Survey |
| title_sort | prevalence of consumption of illicit drugs and associated factors from a nationwide epidemiological survey the singapore health and lifestyle survey |
| topic | Medicine, Health and Life Sciences Hazardous alcohol use Epidemiology |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/179860 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT subramaniammythily prevalenceofconsumptionofillicitdrugsandassociatedfactorsfromanationwideepidemiologicalsurveythesingaporehealthandlifestylesurvey AT kohyensin prevalenceofconsumptionofillicitdrugsandassociatedfactorsfromanationwideepidemiologicalsurveythesingaporehealthandlifestylesurvey AT sambasivamrajeswari prevalenceofconsumptionofillicitdrugsandassociatedfactorsfromanationwideepidemiologicalsurveythesingaporehealthandlifestylesurvey AT abdinedimansyah prevalenceofconsumptionofillicitdrugsandassociatedfactorsfromanationwideepidemiologicalsurveythesingaporehealthandlifestylesurvey AT asharanipv prevalenceofconsumptionofillicitdrugsandassociatedfactorsfromanationwideepidemiologicalsurveythesingaporehealthandlifestylesurvey AT vaingankarjanhaviajit prevalenceofconsumptionofillicitdrugsandassociatedfactorsfromanationwideepidemiologicalsurveythesingaporehealthandlifestylesurvey AT chuaboonyiang prevalenceofconsumptionofillicitdrugsandassociatedfactorsfromanationwideepidemiologicalsurveythesingaporehealthandlifestylesurvey AT chuahongchoon prevalenceofconsumptionofillicitdrugsandassociatedfactorsfromanationwideepidemiologicalsurveythesingaporehealthandlifestylesurvey AT leecheng prevalenceofconsumptionofillicitdrugsandassociatedfactorsfromanationwideepidemiologicalsurveythesingaporehealthandlifestylesurvey AT chowwaileng prevalenceofconsumptionofillicitdrugsandassociatedfactorsfromanationwideepidemiologicalsurveythesingaporehealthandlifestylesurvey AT mastefan prevalenceofconsumptionofillicitdrugsandassociatedfactorsfromanationwideepidemiologicalsurveythesingaporehealthandlifestylesurvey AT chongsiowann prevalenceofconsumptionofillicitdrugsandassociatedfactorsfromanationwideepidemiologicalsurveythesingaporehealthandlifestylesurvey |