Exploring the Relationship between Drug Addiction and Quality of Life in Herat, Afghanistan: A Cross-sectional Study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, Canada

2 Clinical Research Coordinator Organization, DermEffects, London, Ontario, Canada

3 Scientific Research Center, Jami University, Herat, Afghanistan

4 Faculty of Stomatology, Ghalib University, Herat, Afghanistan

5 Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey

10.34172/ahj.2023.1441

Abstract

Background: Addiction is a global public health problem, with over 36 million people suffering from drug-use disorders. Afghanistan, the world’s leading opium producer, has high rates of drug use owing to the easy access to drugs in this country. This study aimed to investigate drug users’ quality of life in Herat, Afghanistan, and identify the factors affecting it.

Methods: This cross-sectional study examined health-related quality of life at six rehabilitation camps in Herat, Afghanistan, from 
March to July 2019, using the short form-36 questionnaire (SF-36). Data collected through interviews were analyzed using SPSS 
software (version 25).

Findings: A total of 240 participants from six rehabilitation camps in Herat, Afghanistan participated in this study. The majority 
of participants (80%) rated their overall health as “good” or “very good”. Men had higher average scores for mental health and 
vitality than women and those aged 30-39 had the highest quality of life. Statistically significant differences were found in bodily 
pain (P=0.038), vitality (P=0.042), and social functioning (P=0.046) among users of different types of drugs. Opium abusers had 
the highest scores for the physical and mental components, followed by heroin, methamphetamine, hashish, and crack abusers.

Conclusion: This study explored the relationship between drug addiction and quality of life in Herat, Afghanistan. The findings 
showed that young adults were more vulnerable to drug use and male addicts and opium users had the highest quality of life. 
This study can inform the development of effective rehabilitation programs but more research is needed for addiction treatment 
strategies.

Highlights

Nasar Ahmad Shayan: (Google Scholar) (PubMed)

Abdul Malik Hooshmand: (Google Scholar) (PubMed)

Ali Rahimi: (Google Scholar) (PubMed)

Sharareh Shayan: (Google Scholar) (PubMed)

Hilal Ozcebe: (Google Scholar) (PubMed)

Keywords

References

Brennan MJ. The effect of opioid therapy on endocrine function. Am J Med. 2013;126(3 Suppl 1):S12-8. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2012.12.001.
2. Le Moal M, Koob GF. Drug addiction: pathways to the disease and pathophysiological perspectives. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2007;17(6-7):377-93. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2006.10.006.
3. Hokm Abadi ME, Bakhti M, Nazemi M, Sedighi S, Mirzadeh Toroghi E. The relationship between personality traits and drug 
type among Substance Abuse. J Res Health. 2018;8(6):531-40. doi: 10.29252/jrh.8.6.531.
4. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). World Drug Report 2021. 2021. https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/
data-and-analysis/wdr2021.html.
5. Whiteford HA, Ferrari AJ, Degenhardt L, Feigin V, Vos T. The global burden of mental, neurological and substance 
use disorders: an analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. PLoS One. 2015;10(2):e0116820. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0116820.
6. SGI Global. Afghanistan National Drug Use Survey 2015. 2015. https://www.issup.net/knowledge-share/publications/2016-10/afghanistan-national-drug-usesurvey-2015. Accessed January 22, 2020.
7. Kamminga J. States simply do not care: the failure of international securitisation of drug control in Afghanistan. 
Int J Drug Policy. 2019;68:3-8. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2019.03.019.
8. U.S. Department of State. Background Note: Afghanistan. 2011. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5380.htm. Accessed January 2, 2012.
9. Ventegodt S, Merrick J. Psychoactive drugs and quality of life. ScientificWorldJournal. 2003;3:694-706. doi: 10.1100/
tsw.2003.57.
10. Millson PE, Challacombe L, Villeneuve PJ, Fischer B, Strike CJ, Myers T, et al. Self-perceived health among Canadian 
opiate users: a comparison to the general population and to other chronic disease populations. Can J Public Health. 
2004;95(2):99-103. doi: 10.1007/bf03405775.
11. Copello AG, Templeton L, Velleman R. Family interventions for drug and alcohol misuse: is there a best practice? Curr 
Opin Psychiatry. 2006;19(3):271-6. doi: 10.1097/01.yco.0000218597.31184.41.
12. Laudet AB. The case for considering quality of life in addiction research and clinical practice. Addict Sci Clin Pract. 2011;6(1):44-55.
13. Karow A, Reimer J, Schäfer I, Krausz M, Haasen C, Verthein U. Quality of life under maintenance treatment with heroin versus methadone in patients with opioid dependence. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2010;112(3):209-15. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2010.06.009.
14. Pasareanu AR, Opsal A, Vederhus JK, Kristensen Ø, Clausen T. Quality of life improved following in-patient substance use disorder treatment. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2015;13:35. doi: 10.1186/s12955-015-0231-7.
15. Ahmadi A, Rahimi A, Wardak MF, Ahmadi H, Lucero-Prisno DE 3rd. Tobacco harm reduction in Afghanistan: a recipe for 
improving smokers’ health. Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2023;18(1):7. doi: 10.1186/s13011-023-00517-2.
16. Eisenberg MD, McCourt A, Stuart EA, Rutkow L, Tormohlen KN, Fingerhood MI, et al. Studying how state health services 
delivery policies can mitigate the effects of disasters on drug addiction treatment and overdose: protocol for a mixedmethods study. PLoS One. 2021;16(12):e0261115. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261115.
17. Shayan NA, Arslan UE, Hooshmand AM, Arshad MZ, Ozcebe H. The Short Form Health Survey (SF-36): translation 
and validation study in Afghanistan. East Mediterr Health J. 2020;26(8):899-908. doi: 10.26719/emhj.20.064.
18. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Drug Use in Afghanistan: 2009 Survey. Executive Summary. 
UNODC; 2009.
19. Rasekh B, Saw YM, Azimi S, Kariya T, Yamamoto E, Hamajima N. Associations of treatment completion against 
drug addiction with motivational interviewing and related factors in Afghanistan. Nagoya J Med Sci. 2018;80(3):329-40. 
doi: 10.18999/nagjms.80.3.329.
20. Shayan NA, Niazi AU, Moheb H, Mohammadi H, Ahmad Saddiqi KW, Dag O, et al. Epidemiology of drug use in 
herat - Afghanistan. Addict Health. 2022;14(2):68-77. doi: 10.22122/ahj.2022.195606.1223.
21. Niazi AU, Shayan NA, Ozgur S, Joya SA, Ozcebe H. Waterpipe smoking among herat university students: 
prevalence, attitudes, and associated factors. Addict Health. 2020;12(4):235-43. doi: 10.22122/ahj.v12i4.277.
22. Hafeiz HB. Socio-demographic correlates and pattern of drug abuse in eastern Saudi Arabia. Drug Alcohol Depend. 
1995;38(3):255-9. doi: 10.1016/0376-8716(95)90001-x.
23. Mutlu E, Alaei A, Tracy M, Waye K, Cetin MK, Alaei K. Correlates of injection drug use among individuals admitted 
to public and private drug treatment facilities in Turkey. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2016;164:71-81. doi: 10.1016/j.
drugalcdep.2016.04.032.
24. Shrestha N, Mehata S, Pradhan PMS, Joshi D, Mishra SR. A nationally representative study on socio-demographic and 
geographic correlates, and trends in tobacco use in Nepal. Sci Rep. 2019;9(1):2682. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-39635-y.
25. Jenkinson C, Coulter A, Wright L. Short form 36 (SF36) health survey questionnaire: normative data for adults of working age. BMJ. 1993;306(6890):1437-40. doi: 10.1136/bmj.306.6890.1437.
26. Loge JH, Kaasa S. Short form 36 (SF-36) health survey: normative data from the general Norwegian population. Scand J Soc Med. 
1998;26(4):250-8. doi: 10.1177/14034948980260040401.
27. Montazeri A, Goshtasebi A, Vahdaninia M, Gandek B. The Short Form Health Survey (SF-36): translation and validation 
study of the Iranian version. Qual Life Res. 2005;14(3):875-82. doi: 10.1007/s11136-004-1014-5.
28. Neale J. Measuring the health of Scottish drug users. Health Soc Care Community. 2004;12(3):202-11. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-
2524.2004.00489.x.
29. Aghayan S, Amiri M, Chaman R, Khosravi A. Quality of life in methadone maintenance treated patients in Iran. Int J High Risk Behav Addict. 2015;4(4):e22275. doi: 10.5812/ijhrba.22275.
30. Hoseinifar J, Zirak SR, Shaker A, Meamar E, Moharami H, Siedkalan MM. Comparison of quality of life and mental 
health of addicts and non- addicts. Procedia Soc Behav Sci. 2011;30:1930-4. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.10.375.
31. Hopman WM, Towheed T, Anastassiades T, Tenenhouse A, Poliquin S, Berger C, et al. Canadian normative data for 
the SF-36 health survey. Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study Research Group. CMAJ. 2000;163(3):265-71.
32. Jenkinson C, Stewart-Brown S, Petersen S, Paice C. Assessment of the SF-36 version 2 in the United Kingdom. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1999;53(1):46-50. doi: 
10.1136/jech.53.1.46.
33. Ware JE. SF-36 Health Survey: Manual and Interpretation Guide. The Health Institute; 1993. 
34. Abadi MH, Shamblen SR, Courser M, Johnson KW, Thompson K, Young L, et al. Gender differences in Afghan drug-abuse 
treatment: an assessment of treatment entry characteristics, dropout, and outcomes. Ethn Health. 2015;20(5):453-73. doi: 
10.1080/13557858.2014.921898.
35. Cottler LB, Ajinkya S, Goldberger BA, Ghani MA, Martin DM, Hu H, et al. Prevalence of drug and alcohol use in urban 
Afghanistan: epidemiological data from the Afghanistan National Urban Drug Use Study (ANUDUS). Lancet Glob Health. 2014;2(10):e592-600. doi: 10.1016/s2214-109x(14)70290-6.
36. Falck RS, Wang J, Carlson RG, Siegal HA. Crack-cocaine use and health status as defined by the SF-36. Addict Behav. 
2000;25(4):579-84. doi: 10.1016/s0306-4603(99)00040-4.
Addiction & Health
Volume 15, Issue 2
April 2023
Pages 112-118

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics