Prevalence of psychoactive substance use by adolescents in public schools in a municipality in the São Paulo Metropolitan Area, Brazil

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of psychoactive substance use by adolescents from public schools. This is a cross-sectional study that used a random sample of adolescents from five public schools located in a municipality in the central-west region of the São Paulo Metropolitan Area, Brazil. Information on demographic, socioeconomic, and drug use was collected using self-report questionnaires. The sample consisted of 1,460 students, 716 (49%) males, aged 10-19 years (13.19±2.04 years). The prevalence of psychoactive substance use in the last month was 51% for analgesics; 48.8% for alcohol; 37.3% for tobacco; 30.8% for tranquilizers; 23.1% for marijuana; 22.6% for anabolic steroids; 21.6% for ecstasy; 15.3% for amphetamines/stimulants; 13.4% for phencyclidine; 12.9% for cocaine/crack; 12.6% for inhalants/solvents; 11.5% for opiates; 11.4% for hallucinogens; and 16.2% for other unclassified drugs. Elementary and middle school students were more likely to consume tobacco (OR = 2.306; 95%CI: 1.733-3.068; p < 0.001), and male students were more likely to consume any type of substance. We identified a high use of psychoactive substances among this study participants, with a higher prevalence among male students.

本研究旨在估算巴西圣保罗都会区中西部某自治市公立学校青少年的精神活性物质使用流行率。本研究为横断面研究，采用随机抽样方法，纳入了来自该市五所公立学校的1460名10~19岁青少年学生，其中男性716名，占比49%，平均年龄为13.19±2.04岁。研究采用自填式问卷收集人口学特征、社会经济状况及药物使用相关信息。近一个月内各类精神活性物质的使用流行率分别为：镇痛剂51%、酒精48.8%、烟草37.3%、镇静剂30.8%、大麻23.1%、合成类固醇22.6%、摇头丸21.6%、苯丙胺/兴奋剂15.3%、苯环己哌啶13.4%、可卡因/快克12.9%、吸入剂/溶剂12.6%、阿片类11.5%、致幻剂11.4%，其余未分类药物占比16.2%。分析结果显示，中小学生使用烟草的风险更高（OR=2.306；95%CI：1.733~3.068；p<0.001），且男性学生更易使用任意类型的精神活性物质。本研究发现，受试青少年群体的精神活性物质使用比例较高，其中男性学生的流行率更为突出。