Use of illicit drugs by adolescents and young adults of an urban settlement in Brazil.

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the prevalence and factors associated with illicit drug use by adolescents and young adults of a formal urban settlement.

METHOD

Cross-sectional study including adolescents and young adults 12-24 years of an urban settlement in the Midwest Region of Brazil. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using Stata, version 12.0. We used Poisson regression model to estimate the factors associated with illicit drug use.

RESULTS

Of the total participants (n=105), 27.6% (95CI 20.0-36.9%) had used illicit drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, crack, LSD and inhalants. The consumption of these substances was associated with male gender, use of body piercing and/or tattoos, licit drug use and self-report of signs and/or symptoms of sexually transmitted infections.

CONCLUSION

High prevalence of illicit drug use was found in the individuals investigated, ratifying the presence of risk factors to the vulnerability of the settlers to use these substances in the urban settlement population.