Illict drug use and academia in North Kosovo: Prevalence, patterns, predictors and health-related quality of life

The purpose of this study were to estimate the prevalence and patterns of illicit drug use in a sample of University students from North Kosovo, to assess factors associated with illicit drug use and to assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among students according to illicit drug use. A cro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2018-07, Vol.13 (7), p.e0199921-e0199921
Main Authors: Gazibara, Tatjana, Milic, Marija, Parlic, Milan, Stevanovic, Jasmina, Lazic, Dragoslav, Maric, Gorica, Kisic-Tepavcevic, Darija, Pekmezovic, Tatjana
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alcohol
Alcohol use
Alcohols
Analysis
Biology and Life Sciences
Cannabis
Chronic illnesses
Cocaine
College students
Colleges & universities
Demographics
Drug abuse
Drug use
Education
Epidemiology
Health aspects
Health promotion
Illegal drugs
Marijuana
Medicine
Medicine and Health Sciences
Mental depression
Minority & ethnic violence
People and Places
Physical Sciences
Population
Prescription drugs
Prevention
Public health
Quality assessment
Quality of life
Social Sciences
Students
University students
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Summary:The purpose of this study were to estimate the prevalence and patterns of illicit drug use in a sample of University students from North Kosovo, to assess factors associated with illicit drug use and to assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among students according to illicit drug use. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Student Public Health Center, where 514 University students were enrolled from April to June 2015 in North Kosovo. Participants completed the general socio-demographic and behavioral questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the SF-36 questionnaire for HRQoL assessment. Data on lifetime illicit drug use were self-reported. As much as 16.0% of students reported ever illicit drug use. The most frequently used drugs were marijuana (9.3%) and bromazepam (7.6%). Factors associated with ever illicit drug use were: being smoker and alcohol user, having chronic diseases and having higher depressive symptoms score. Ever illicit drug users reported all domains of HRQoL as worse. These results could serve as a tool for implementation of preventive strategies and University policies to promote healthy lifestyles and behaviors. Measurement of HRQoL could also be used as indicator of the effect of interventions designed to reduce and/or prevent illicit drug use at institutions of higher education.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0199921