Alrakaf Feras A, Binyousef Faris H, Altammami Abdulaziz F, Alharbi Ahmed A, Shadid Asem, Alrahili Nader
Medicine, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, SAU.
Psychiatry, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, SAU.
Cureus. 2020 Jan 17;12(1):e6688. doi: 10.7759/cureus.6688.
This study aims to assess the prevalence of illicit use of stimulants and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among a sample of medical students at the main universities in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and their motivation for use. We examine the association between the use of stimulants and the students' academic performance. We also look into the possible adverse consequences of illicit stimulant use among students. The competitive nature of medical school might place the students at a higher risk of using stimulant drugs illicitly. Acquiring these stimulants illegally has become easier since the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD have risen. We are unaware of any other study exploring the prevalence of and motivation for illicit use of stimulants among medical students in Riyadh. A cross-sectional web-based survey was the study design we chose as we were targeting medical students in three governmental medical colleges in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The total sample population of 1,177 participants was divided into the three following groups: no previous use of stimulant drugs (Group 1), illicit use (Group 2), and medical use (Group 3). Of the 1,177 medical students, 29 (2.46%) were found to be using stimulants illicitly; 39 (3.31%) were using the stimulants medically as they had been diagnosed with ADHD. The ability to prolong study time was reported as the most common motive for illicit use by many students. The present study contributes to the literature by casting light on this serious issue in Riyadh. More educational effort is needed to promote awareness about the adverse effects of ADHD drugs and their illicit use among students.
本研究旨在评估沙特阿拉伯利雅得主要大学的医学生样本中非法使用兴奋剂和注意力缺陷多动障碍（ADHD）的患病率及其使用动机。我们研究兴奋剂使用与学生学业成绩之间的关联。我们还探究学生非法使用兴奋剂可能产生的不良后果。医学院校的竞争性质可能使学生非法使用兴奋剂药物的风险更高。自从ADHD的诊断和治疗增加以来，非法获取这些兴奋剂变得更加容易。我们不知道有任何其他研究探讨利雅得医学生中非法使用兴奋剂的患病率和动机。我们选择基于网络的横断面调查作为研究设计，因为我们的目标是沙特阿拉伯利雅得三所政府医学院的医学生。1177名参与者的总样本人群被分为以下三组：以前未使用过兴奋剂药物（第1组）、非法使用（第2组）和医疗使用（第3组）。在1177名医学生中，发现29人（2.46%）非法使用兴奋剂；39人（3.31%）因被诊断患有ADHD而医疗使用兴奋剂。许多学生报告称，延长学习时间的能力是非法使用兴奋剂最常见的动机。本研究通过揭示利雅得的这一严重问题为文献做出了贡献。需要开展更多教育工作，以提高学生对ADHD药物的不良影响及其非法使用的认识。
