Epidemiology of Drug Abuse (Chronic Intoxication) and its Related Factors in a MMT Clinic in Shiraz, Southern Iran

Background: Drug abuse is a major health problem in many countries. Noticing the different patterns of drug abuse in different areas, we evaluated the epidemiology of drug abuse and related factors in Fars province, Southern Iran. Materials and Methods: In a one-year cross-sectional study, from March 21st, 2009 to 2010, all subjects referring to Addiction Treatment Clinic of Shiraz University were evaluated. Demographic data including age, gender, marital status, occupation, level of education, type of drug, route of abuse, initiation time, and cause of drug abuse were recorded. Results: The majority of the participants were multi-drug abusers (92%). Opium was the most commonly abused drug, solely (5.3%) or in combination with other drugs (88.7%). Mean age of the first experience of drug abuse was 20.66 years (ranging from 12 to 45). The Most common routes were smoking and ingestion (31.6%) followed by smoking (14.9%). Mean duration of drug abuse was 12.3±8.7 years (ranging from 1 to 38). The major reasons for drug abuse were temptation by friends (28.9%) followed by seeking pleasure (21.9%). A history of substance abuse in the family was reported by 41.9% of the participants. Conclusion: Identifying the patterns of drug abuse in different parts of Iran may necessitate using different strategic protocols.