Consequences of adolescent drug use: Impact on the lives of young adults

Rising trend of substance abuse in Pakistan: a study of sociodemographic profiles of patients admitted to rehabilitation centres.

Opioid addiction is a public health concern. Opioid overdose death rates account for one third to a half of all global substance-related deaths. Opioid mortality rates increased nearly fivefold in the United States between 1999 and 2016. Recent research has found health care disparities in the United States among minority populations with opioid use disorder, particularly Hispanics. Current literature also suggests that a number of social and cultural factors, including the stigma linked to mental illness and treatment in the Hispanic culture, may further negatively contribute to the problem. This brief report pays close attention to the opioid epidemic in the United States and addresses issues related to the crisis among Hispanics. Recommendations for clinical practice, research, and health care policy are also discussed.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1540415319888437

Hispanics, Addictions, and the Opioid Epidemic: Brief Report.

“An undercover problem in the Muslim community”: A qualitative study of imams' perspectives on substance use

.. Objective: Drug abuse and drug addiction cases have been increased immensely in last few decades in Pakistan. This study was conducted to assess the frequency of cutaneous manifestations in drug abuse patients. Study Design: Cross Sectional study. Settings: Dermatology Department of a DHQ Teaching Hospital/Sahiwal Medical College, Sahiwal and Central Jail Hospital, Sahiwal. Period: November 2019 to June 2020. Material & Methods: 50 patients with drug abuse irrespective of age and gender were selected. Skin manifestations based on history and examination recorded on predesigned proforma. Laboratory investigations and skin biopsies were performed to confirm diagnoses in doubtful cases. Results: A total of 50 male patients with age above 16 years were enrolled. Single drug addiction was noticed in 62% (n=31) and polydrug abuse was observed in 38% (n=19). Regarding mode of drug intake, single and multiple modes of drug administration were seen in equal number 50% (n=25) each. Major bulk of skin manifestations were chronic including skin scars 66% (n=33), xerosis 60% (n=30), hyperpigmentation 58% (n=29), oral mucosal changes 94% (n=47) and facial skin changes 60% (n=30). Acute along with chronic skin changes were observed in 30% (n=15) mainly including injection marks 30% (n=15), vascular changes 12% (n=6) and infections 8% (n=4). Conclusion: Skin scars, xerosis, hyperpigmentation and oral mucosal changes are the common skin changes observed among drug abusers. Thus, physicians need to be aware of skin signs of drug abuse for timely recognition of substance abuse disorders and effective management.

/pdf/frequency-of-cutaneous-manifestations-in-drug-abuse-patients-11u2sls9bw.pdf

Frequency of cutaneous manifestations in drug abuse patients.

This study assessed the pattern of drug abuse and the reasons for relapse of addiction among male drug addicts seeking rehabilitative services in different centres in Lahore, Pakistan. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on male drug abusers from April to December 2016. Nonprobability purposive sampling was done to collect a sample of 119 participants. A structured questionnaire and in-depth interviews were used for data collection. Out of 119 participants, 71.4% were in the age group 15-35 years. Educational levels were low in the majority, with 68.1% below secondary education. Unmarried (51.3%) and unemployed (44.5%) participants were at the greatest risk of using drugs. The age of addiction in 45% of patients was 5 years. Reasons for starting drug abuse were recreation (37%), curiosity (34.5%), and lifechanging events (14.3%). Reasons for relapse included association with former addicts, negative reactions from family, inability to manage the craving and work/social stress.

/pdf/pattern-of-addiction-and-its-relapse-among-habitual-drug-1c9rclo1cl.pdf

Pattern of addiction and its relapse among habitual drug abusers in Lahore, Pakistan.

Objective: Globally, neck pain is the most frequent pain, rating fourth among the disabilities. Text neck pain is an emergent epidemiological problem, especially among young adults. This study aims to check the frequency of text neck syndrome in both prolonged studying and excessive smartphone usage amongst the young undergraduates of medical college. Study Design and Setting: A cross-sectional study was conducted among at Central Medical College, Lahore. Methodology: The data was collected using a self-designed questionnaire.118 medical students were included in the study. The designed questionnaire gathered information on age, gender, academic year, any health issue, the experience of pain or discomfort, hours for use of any electronic device, and book reading. The reliability was 62% using Cronbach’s alpha. Data were analyzed using SPSS 26. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 22.35 +1.85 years. About 93.2% of the medical students reported discomfort or pain in the neck, shoulder, or back. About 74.6% of the female medical students and 54.5% of male students suffered from headaches with neck pain. The most used device was mobile among 94.1% of students. Experience of pain and discomfort was significantly associated with the number of hours consumed in using the device. Conclusion: The frequency of text neck pain is found to be 93.2%, which is very high among the young population and smartphones are found to be the highest risk factor; use of laptop being the second most common. Female students comparatively suffer more from frequent pain and discomfort.

Association of Text Neck Pain with prolonged Studying and Excessive Smart Phone Usage Among Medical Students

Objective: This investigation aimed to determine the feasibility of using telemedicine for screening and to observe healthcareprovider’s opinion about telemedicine. In addition to that, explore the barriers in use of telemedicineStudy Design and setting: A cross-sectional study was carried out at Central Park Medical College and Teaching Hospital.Methodology: The study was conducted between November, 2020 to April,2021 from 176 doctors and nurses workingat Central Park Teaching Hospital using a convenience sampling technique. Convenience sampling was used because thereis always a high probability of non-response or unavailability of clinical doctors and nurses. The minimum sample sizewas calculated as 88 for the group of doctors. The minimum sample size was doubled to collect the data from two cadres.The questionnaire was based on demographic information, general opinion about telemedicine such as reliability, comparisonwith standard examination procedure, nature, popularity, knowledge requirement, cost-effectiveness, designed frame andbarriers for telemedicine.Results: Nearly, 80.1% of the participants were doctors with clinical experience while the remaining were nurses.Approximately 72.5% of the doctors and 58.5% of the sampled participants said that telemedicine does not fulfill the needfor standard examination procedures.Conclusion: The findings of our study showed that the general opinion of healthcare professionals about telemedicine wasunfavorable. Doctors had negative views but the nursing staff was optimistic. There was a mixed response about convenience.The main barrier to telemedicine was the poor communication skills of patients and availability and knowledge for usinginfrastructure

Perception of Telemedicine in Health Care Workers of a Tertiary Care Hospital

Introduction There are several factors such as physical inactivity, sedentary lifestyle, and diet that can be responsible for weight gain or obesity. Regular physical activity is important for better physical and emotional well-being. The objective of the study is to observe the prevalence of obesity or over-weight and how lack of physical activity contributes to weight gain and other health issues. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in Shalamar Town, Lahore on 646 participants. Data was collected using the WHO STEPS instrument. The inclusion criteria were a minimum age of 30 years and residents of Shalimar Town, Lahore for more than five years. The exclusion criteria were participants with comorbid conditions like HIV, TB, and terminal stage of cancer. Test of association and binary logistic regression analysis was performed to observe a significant association between demographic variables and non-communicable diseases among the participants involved in performing physical exercise. Results About 22.1% of the participants had normal BMI, 5.3% were underweight whereas 34.2% of the participants were overweight and 32.4% obese. Male participants were found to be more physically active compared to females. Hypertension and diabetes were statistically significantly associated with physical activity. BMI and waist-hip ratio were found to be associated with moderate physical exercise. Conclusion Most of the participants were not involved in moderate physical activity. Overall, an alarming 66.6% of the participants were either overweight or obese. In general, males were found to participate more in intense physical activity.

/pdf/relationship-between-physical-inactivity-and-obesity-in-the-350xrfk3.pdf

Relationship Between Physical Inactivity and Obesity in the Urban Slums of Lahore

Background: Unhealthy, jumbled eating habits and irregular eating behavior, often associated with body image and weight concerns, are known as abnormal eating behaviors. Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorders are common disordered eating behaviors. Females are more likely than males to experience eating disorders.
Objective: The research was conducted to determine the frequency of eating disorders in women of reproductive age group and identify the factors associated with it.
Methods: It was a cross-sectional study carried out at Central Park Medical College, Lahore. Non-probability convenient sampling technique was used to collect data from 196 females of the reproductive age group (15-49 years) using the Scoff Questionnaire. Binary logistic regression was applied to observe the association of eating disorders with non-communicable diseases (NCDs). SPSS version 26 was used for data analysis.
Results: About 82.8% of the females belonged to urban areas and out of those 44.5% had an eating disorder. Binary logistic regression analysis indicated that the odds of developing eating disorders were 85% high for obese women. Approximately 12.6% of the females agreed or strongly agreed that they overeat. Overeating was observed as a statistically significant associated factor with eating disorder (p value=0.048). 
Conclusion: Approximately 45.5% of the females were identified as either having anorexia nervosa or bulimia. Females living in cities and nuclear family systems had a higher percentage of eating disorders.

Shamaila Hassnain

Papers

Pattern of addiction and its relapse among habitual drug abusers in Lahore, Pakistan.

Association of Text Neck Pain with prolonged Studying and Excessive Smart Phone Usage Among Medical Students

Perception of Telemedicine in Health Care Workers of a Tertiary Care Hospital

Relationship Between Physical Inactivity and Obesity in the Urban Slums of Lahore

Assessment of Eating disorders in females of reproductive age by using SCOFF Questionnaire