Nonprescribed use of tranquilizers and use of other drugs among Brazilian students

Abstract

Objectives: To describe patterns of nonprescribed use of tranquilizers by students aged 10 to 18 years and assess the sociodemographic characteristics of these adolescents and their use of other substances. Methods: A randomized and stratified sample of 47,979 students from state and private schools of the 27 Brazilian state capitals completed a self-report questionnaire. Poisson regression was used to estimate the associations between tranquilizer use and sociodemographic factors, as well as the use of other psychotropic substances. Results: The lifetime prevalence of nonprescribed use of tranquilizers was 3.9%. Use was most common among girls, wealthier adolescents, and those from private schools. An association was found between use of tranquilizers and lifetime use of alcohol (prevalence ratio [PR] = 3.15; 95% confidence intervals [95%CI] 2.58-3.85), tobacco (PR = 2.61; 95%CI 2.31-2.95), illicit drugs (PR = 3.70; 95%CI 3.19-4.29), and other prescription drugs (PR = 7.03; 95%CI 6.18-7.99). As the number of substances adolescents reported having used increased, so did the nonprescribed use of tranquilizers. Conclusions: Nonprescribed use of tranquilizers by adolescents might indicate the use of other substances, including high-risk combinations such as tranquilizers and alcohol. The risks of this association should be addressed during the early stages of drug prevention programs.

Keywords

• Adolescents
• antianxiety agents
• epidemiology
• gender differences
• psychoactive substance use disorder