SUBSTANCE ABUSE AMONG PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS AT TERTIARY CARE HOSPITALS OF PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To determine the frequency of substance abuse among pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients and to assess the association of socioeconomic factors associated with substance abuse among PTB attending tuberculosis clinics at tertiary hospitals in Peshawar, Pakistan. METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from 1st May 2019 to 31st October 2019 at three tertiary care hospitals (Lady Reading Hospital, Khyber Teaching Hospital and Hayatabad Medical Complex) in Peshawar, Pakistan. Sample size was calculated by using OpenEpi software, taking prevalence of substance abuse as 50%. PTB patients (n=423) aged 17-60 years were recruited through convenient sampling technique. Data was collected from tuberculosis patients through validated questionnaires: Alcohol, Smoking & Substance Involvement Screening Test & Poverty Score Card. RESULTS: Out of 423 patients, 264 (62.4%) were males. Majority (n=331;78.3%) of the participants belonged to 'middle-income group. Mean age of the participants was 39.33±13.76 years. Frequency of substance abuse amongst sampled tuberculosis population was 54.9% (n=232/423). The most common substance abuse included tobacco products (22.7%), sleeping pills (6.6%), opioids (6.1%) and cannabis (5.7%). A significant association was detected between substance abuse and income of participants-low and high income group had higher reported substance abuse than middle income group (p<0.001). Our study found a statistically significant association between gender and substance abuse (p-value <0.01) with more females (63.63%) than males (50.38%) reported being involved in substance abuse. CONCLUSION: More than half of PTB patients, substance abuses. Gender and socioeconomic factors have significant association with substance abuse.