[Association between drug consumption and depression among high school students].

BACKGROUND

The presence of emotional problems may trigger drug abuse.

AIM

To determine the association between illicit drug use and severity of depression symptoms among students of public secondary schools in Santiago, Chile.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A probabilistic sample of 2,597 adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years (45% women), attending first year in public high-schools in Santiago, answered self-report questionnaires about consumption, during the last 30 days ,of alcohol, tobacco and marihuana, and the Beck Depression Inventory - II. Logistic regression models were used to study the association between drug use and severity of depression symptoms, adjusting by sex.

RESULTS

Tobacco and marihuana use was reported by 38 and 13% of students, respectively. Frequency of consumption was significantly higher among women. Mild, moderate or severe depressive symptoms were found among 16%, 14% and 9% of students, respectively. Depressive symptoms were more common among women. There was a significant association between drug use and severity of depression among participants of both genders.

CONCLUSIONS

The association between depressive symptoms and drug use should be considered on the design of treatment guidelines for these health problems in Chile.