Majori S, Gazzani D, Pilati S, Paiano J, Sannino A, Ferrari S, Checchin E
Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Hygiene and Environmental Occupational Preventive Medicine Division, University of Verona, Italy.
Postgraduate Specialization in "Hygiene and Preventive Medicine", University of Verona, Italy.
J Prev Med Hyg. 2017 Jun;58(2):E130-E140.
The non-medical use of prescription stimulants (NMUPS) has become the subject of great interest for its diffusion among university students, who abuse these substances to cope with the increasing load of academic stress. NMUPS has been widely investigated in the U.S. due to its increasing trend; this behavior, however, has also been reported in Europe. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine stimulants misuse in a Northern Italian geographic area, identifying possible developments of the phenomenon in Italy.
To evaluate academic and extra-academic NMUPS (Methylphenidate and Amphetamines), an anonymous multiplechoice questionnaire was administrated to a sample of Bachelor's and Master's degrees students attending a University North East of Italy. Data elaboration and CI 95% were performed with Excel software 2013. Fisher's exact tests were performed using Graph- Pad INSTAT software.
Data from 899 correctly completed questionnaires were analyzed in this study. 11.3% of students reported NMUPS, with an apparent greater use by students aged 18-22 years (73.5%) and without any statistically significant gender predominance. Fifty-seven point eight percent of students used stimulants at most five times in six months, and the most frequent academic and extra-academic reasons to use them were respectively to improve concentration while studying (51.0%) and sports performance (25.5%). NMUPS was higher among working students than nonworking ones (p < 0.05), suggesting a use of stimulants to cope with stress by the first ones.
These exploratory and preliminary data suggest that NMUPS is quite relevant in Northern Italy, suggesting a need for preventive and monitoring measures, as well as future analysis via a longitudinal multicenter study.
处方兴奋剂的非医疗使用（NMUPS）因其在大学生中的传播而备受关注，这些学生滥用这些物质来应对日益增加的学业压力。由于其呈上升趋势，NMUPS在美国已得到广泛研究；然而，这种行为在欧洲也有报道。这项横断面研究的目的是调查意大利北部一个地理区域内兴奋剂的滥用情况，确定该现象在意大利可能的发展趋势。
为评估学业和学业外的NMUPS（哌甲酯和苯丙胺），我们向意大利东北部一所大学的本科和硕士学位学生样本发放了一份匿名多项选择题问卷。使用Excel 2013软件进行数据处理和95%置信区间计算。使用GraphPad INSTAT软件进行Fisher精确检验。
本研究分析了899份正确填写的问卷数据。11.3% 的学生报告存在NMUPS情况，18 - 22岁的学生使用情况明显更多（73.5%），且在性别方面没有任何统计学上的显著优势。57.8% 的学生在六个月内最多使用兴奋剂五次，使用兴奋剂最常见的学业和学业外原因分别是在学习时提高注意力（51.0%）和提高运动表现（25.5%）。有工作的学生中NMUPS情况比无工作的学生更高（p < 0.05），这表明前者使用兴奋剂来应对压力。
这些探索性和初步数据表明，NMUPS在意大利北部相当普遍，这表明需要采取预防和监测措施，以及通过纵向多中心研究进行未来分析。
