Enuagwuna Fredrick C, Tobin-West Charles I, Dappa Favour A, Bethel Thank-God C
Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Port Harcourt and Department of Community Medicine University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
College of Health Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Niger Med J. 2025 Apr 3;66(1):142-155. doi: 10.71480/nmj.v66i1.647. eCollection 2025 Jan-Feb.
The habitual or excessive use of painkillers, including prescription and over-the-counter drugs, that deviates from medical guidelines is known as analgesic abuse, and this includes taking larger doses than recommended, using the drugs for non-medical purposes, or continuing to take the medication despite adverse effects on one's physical, mental, and social well-being. Devastating health effects may result from this. The prevalence and patterns of analgesic abuse among University of Port Harcourt undergraduate students were evaluated in this study.
A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted, and respondents were selected using a multistage sampling method. A self-administered, structured questionnaire was used to gather the data, and IBM Statistical Product for Service Solution (SPSS) version 25 was used to analyze the data; means, frequency, proportions, chi-square, and regression analysis were used to summarize the results. A p-value of less than 0.05 was deemed statistically significant.
384 students in all, with a median age of 20, were interviewed. The distribution of results showed that 207 (53.9%) of the respondents were males and 177 (46.1%) were females. The majority of responders, 339 (69.6%), used paracetamol, with headaches accounting for 316 (57.4%) of all uses. The findings also showed that the prevalence of analgesic abuse was 9.1%, with paracetamol being the most frequently abused medicine (42.9%).
Although the results indicated that the prevalence of analgesic abuse among University of Port Harcourt undergraduate students was low, most respondents used analgesic medication without a prescription from a doctor. The most common reasons for using analgesics were headaches, muscle pain, and menstrual cramps. It is crucial that the institution implements strategic plans to ensure that students are taught how to use analgesics properly.
偏离医学指南习惯性或过量使用止痛药（包括处方药和非处方药）被称为镇痛药滥用，这包括服用超过推荐剂量的药物、将药物用于非医疗目的，或尽管对个人的身体、心理和社会福祉有不良影响仍继续服药。这可能会导致严重的健康后果。本研究评估了哈科特港大学本科生中镇痛药滥用的患病率和模式。
进行了一项描述性横断面研究，采用多阶段抽样方法选择受访者。使用自行填写的结构化问卷收集数据，并使用IBM统计产品与服务解决方案（SPSS）25版分析数据；使用均值、频率、比例、卡方检验和回归分析来总结结果。p值小于0.05被认为具有统计学意义。
共采访了384名学生，中位年龄为20岁。结果分布显示，207名（53.9%）受访者为男性，177名（46.1%）为女性。大多数受访者，即339名（69.6%），使用对乙酰氨基酚，其中头痛占所有使用情况的316例（57.4%）。研究结果还表明，镇痛药滥用的患病率为9.1%，对乙酰氨基酚是最常被滥用的药物（42.9%）。
尽管结果表明哈科特港大学本科生中镇痛药滥用的患病率较低，但大多数受访者在没有医生处方的情况下使用镇痛药。使用镇痛药最常见的原因是头痛、肌肉疼痛和痛经。该机构实施战略计划以确保教导学生如何正确使用镇痛药至关重要。
