Sabbe Martine, Sawchik Javier, Gräfe Mégane, Wuillaume Françoise, De Bruyn Sara, Van Antwerpen Pierre, Van Hal Guido, Desseilles Martin, Hamdani Jamila, Malonne Hugues
Scientific Directorate of Epidemiology and public health - Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium.
DG Post authorisation - Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products, Brussels, Belgium.
Arch Public Health. 2022 Feb 16;80(1):54. doi: 10.1186/s13690-022-00816-3.
Misuse of prescription stimulants (PS) has been reported among students to enhance academic performance in Flanders (Belgium). However, PS misuse among students in the French-speaking community is unknown. The main purpose of the study was to estimate the prevalence of medical use and misuse of PS by university students in the French-speaking community (Belgium), and to investigate the reasons and sources associated with PS misuse.
A cross-sectional online survey was performed in 2018. All university students 18 years and older were invited to participate and asked about PS use, including medical (i.e., used for therapeutic purposes) and nonmedical reasons and sources of PS.
In total, 12 144 students participated in the survey (median age = 21 years, 65.5% female). The estimated prevalence of PS use was 6.9% (ever use) and 5.5% (past-year). Among ever users, 34.7% were classified as medical users and 65.3% as misusers. Lifetime prevalence of misuse was estimated at 4.5%. The most common reason for medical use was treatment of attention disorder (85.9%). Reasons for misuse were mainly to improve concentration (76.1%) or to stay awake and study longer (50.7%). Friends or acquaintances inside the student community and general practitioners were the main sources of PS for misuse (41.5% and 23.5%, respectively).
This study found that rates of misuse of PS in French-speaking universities in Belgium were in line with studies conducted in Flanders and Europe. Academic institutions can use these results to tailor their drug prevention campaigns.
据报道，在比利时弗拉芒地区，有学生滥用处方兴奋剂以提高学业成绩。然而，法语社区学生中处方兴奋剂的滥用情况尚不清楚。本研究的主要目的是估计比利时法语社区大学生医疗用途和滥用处方兴奋剂的患病率，并调查与处方兴奋剂滥用相关的原因和来源。
2018年进行了一项横断面在线调查。邀请所有18岁及以上的大学生参与，并询问他们关于处方兴奋剂的使用情况，包括医疗用途（即用于治疗目的）以及非医疗用途的原因和处方兴奋剂的来源。
共有12144名学生参与了调查（中位年龄 = 21岁，65.5%为女性）。处方兴奋剂的估计使用率为6.9%（曾经使用）和5.5%（过去一年使用）。在曾经使用者中，34.7%被归类为医疗使用者，65.3%为滥用者。滥用的终生患病率估计为4.5%。医疗使用的最常见原因是治疗注意力障碍（85.9%）。滥用的原因主要是提高注意力（76.1%）或保持清醒并学习更长时间（50.7%）。学生社区内的朋友或熟人以及全科医生是处方兴奋剂滥用的主要来源（分别为41.5%和23.5%）。
本研究发现，比利时法语区大学中处方兴奋剂的滥用率与在弗拉芒地区和欧洲进行的研究结果一致。学术机构可以利用这些结果来调整其药物预防活动。
