Prevalence of Drug Abuse and Related Factors amongst Undergraduate University Students

Background: Drug abuse is already a grave issue in Nigeria, particularly with regard to the country's higher educational institutions, necessitating immediate action. Objectives: We aim to determine the prevalence of drug abuse and related factors amongst Nnamdi Azikiwe University students in Nnewi campus, Anambra state, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study involving one hundred participants recruited using simple random sampling method. SKYTECTM Drug abuse test kit was used to detect the presence of tramadol, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), methamphetamine (MET), ketamine (KET) and 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in the subjects’ urine sample following the manufacturer’s instruction. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 26 software batch system was used for the statistical analysis. Frequency, percentage, and chi square statistics were used to analyze the data and the level of significance was set at p<0.05. Results: The findings revealed that 7% (<18.5 kg/m²) of the participants were underweight, 69% (18.5-24.9 kg/m²) were normal weight, 15% (25 kg/m²) were overweight, and 9% (>30.0 kg/m²) were obese. The prevalence of drugs abused by the participants were THC 7(7%), tramadol 0(0%), MET 0(0%), KET 0(0%), and MDMA 0(0%) respectively. Curiosity; stress relief, peer pressure and choice were the influencing factors. There was a significant association between the place of abuse with the current trend of drug abuse (χ² = 17.872, p=0.003) and between abuse partner with the current trend of drug abuse (χ² = 15.184, p=0.002).