TY - JOUR
T1 - Epidemiology of illicit drug use disorders in Iran
T2 - prevalence, correlates, comorbidity and service utilization results from the Iranian Mental Health Survey
AU - Amin-Esmaeili, Masoumeh
AU - Rahimi-Movaghar, Afarin
AU - Sharifi, Vandad
AU - Hajebi, Ahmad
AU - Radgoodarzi, Reza
AU - Mojtabai, Ramin
AU - Hefazi, Mitra
AU - Motevalian, Abbas
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Society for the Study of Addiction.
PY - 2016/10/1
Y1 - 2016/10/1
N2 - BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Drug abuse is a significant social and public health problem in Iran. The present study aimed to provide prevalence estimates and information on correlates of illicit drug use disorder and opioid dependence, as well as service use for these disorders in Iran.DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: This report is based on the Iranian household Mental Health Survey (IranMHS) conducted in 2011. A three-stage probability sampling was employed. Face-to-face interviews by trained psychologists were carried out with a nationally representative sample of 7841 individuals (3366 men and 4475 women) aged 15-64 years.MEASUREMENTS: The Composite International Diagnostic Interview and questionnaires for socio-demographic correlates and service use.FINDINGS: The prevalence of 12-month use disorders for any illicit drug according to DSM-IV and DSM-5 criteria were 2.09% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.70-2.47%] and 2.44% (95% CI = 2.03-2.85%), respectively. Opioid use disorders, and opium in particular, were the most common use disorder. The odds of drug use disorders were greater in men than in women, in previously married participants than in currently or never married participants, and in participants with lower socio-economic status than in those with higher socio-economic status (all P-values <0.05). Approximately half of those with drug use disorders and 40% with opioid dependence had a 12-month unmet need for treatment. Self-help groups were the most common type of service used, followed by obtaining medication from pharmacies directly and outpatient treatment services.CONCLUSIONS: Opioid use disorders are the most common type of drug use disorders in Iran, setting Iran apart from many other countries. Patterns of service use suggest a large unmet need for drug use disorder treatment in Iran.
AB - BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Drug abuse is a significant social and public health problem in Iran. The present study aimed to provide prevalence estimates and information on correlates of illicit drug use disorder and opioid dependence, as well as service use for these disorders in Iran.DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: This report is based on the Iranian household Mental Health Survey (IranMHS) conducted in 2011. A three-stage probability sampling was employed. Face-to-face interviews by trained psychologists were carried out with a nationally representative sample of 7841 individuals (3366 men and 4475 women) aged 15-64 years.MEASUREMENTS: The Composite International Diagnostic Interview and questionnaires for socio-demographic correlates and service use.FINDINGS: The prevalence of 12-month use disorders for any illicit drug according to DSM-IV and DSM-5 criteria were 2.09% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.70-2.47%] and 2.44% (95% CI = 2.03-2.85%), respectively. Opioid use disorders, and opium in particular, were the most common use disorder. The odds of drug use disorders were greater in men than in women, in previously married participants than in currently or never married participants, and in participants with lower socio-economic status than in those with higher socio-economic status (all P-values <0.05). Approximately half of those with drug use disorders and 40% with opioid dependence had a 12-month unmet need for treatment. Self-help groups were the most common type of service used, followed by obtaining medication from pharmacies directly and outpatient treatment services.CONCLUSIONS: Opioid use disorders are the most common type of drug use disorders in Iran, setting Iran apart from many other countries. Patterns of service use suggest a large unmet need for drug use disorder treatment in Iran.
KW - Drug abuse
KW - Iran
KW - drug dependence
KW - epidemiology
KW - opioid use disorder
KW - service utilization
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U2 - 10.1111/add.13453
DO - 10.1111/add.13453
M3 - Article
C2 - 27177849
AN - SCOPUS:84986200989
SN - 0965-2140
VL - 111
SP - 1836
EP - 1847
JO - Addiction (Abingdon, England)
JF - Addiction (Abingdon, England)
IS - 10
ER -