Prevalence of Ritalin Abuse and its Relationship with Demographic Characteristics Among Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Western Health, Department of Urology, Melbourne, Australia

2 Surgery Education and Researching Network (SERGN), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Khorramabad, Iran

3 USERN Office, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran

4 Student Research Committee, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran

5 Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran

10.34172/ahj.1555

Abstract

Introduction: Substance abuse is a significant global issue, particularly among professional doctoral students who have increased access to medications like Ritalin. The misuse of Ritalin among this population poses substantial risks. Hence, understanding its prevalence and reasons is crucial. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of Ritalin abuse among professional doctoral students at Lorestan University of Medical Sciences and investigate its relationship with demographic characteristics.
Methods: This study is a descriptive-analytical cross-sectional investigation involving 320 professional doctoral students at Lorestan University of Medical Sciences during the 2022-2023 academic year. A checklist was employed to assess the prevalence of Ritalin usage and its correlation with demographic factors. The acquired data were analyzed using SPSS version 22.
Findings: The study found that 10.6% of the students surveyed were misusing Ritalin. Most participants were female (56.9%) and were studying medicine (70%). A significant proportion had a good income level (38.8%), and clinical professional doctoral students had the highest rate of Ritalin misuse (52.9%). Gender, educational level, place of residence, and marital status showed significant associations with Ritalin misuse (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Misuse of Ritalin among professional doctoral students (pharmacy, medicine, dentistry) at Lorestan University of Medical Sciences is widespread. Consequently, due to the negative impacts and issues stemming from unjustified and self-administered Ritalin misuse, strict control and supervision in drug distribution and sales are imperative, along with measures to deter non-prescription sales.

Highlights

Ahad Fazeli(GoogleScholar)(Pubmed)

Keywords

References

  1. Jalilian F, Ataee M, Karami Matin B, Ahmadpanah M, Ahmadi Jouybari T, Eslami AA, et al. Cognitive factors related to drug abuse among a sample of Iranian male medical college students. Glob J Health Sci 2015;7(5):143-51. doi:10.5539/ gjhs.v7n5p143
  2. Lashkaripour M, Dartomi S, Ghiasi Z, Farajian-Mashhadi F, Sargolzaei N. Frequency of non-medical use of methylphenidate (Ritalin) among medical students of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences. Int J High Risk Behav Addict 2019;8(2): e84694. doi:10.5812/ijhrba.84694
  3. Zahavi E, Lev-Shalem L, Yehoshua I, Adler L. Methylphenidate use and misuse among medical residents in Israel: a cross-sectional study. Hum Resour Health 2023;21(1):5. doi:10.1186/s12960-023-00792-x
  4. Chiappini S, Gramuglia PD, Mosca A, Cavallotto C, Miuli A, Corkery JM, et al. Methylphenidate abuse and misuse in patients affected with a psychiatric disorder and a substance use disorder: a systematic review. Front Psychiatry 2024;15:1508732. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1508732
  5. Board AR, Guy G, Jones CM, Hoots B. Trends in stimulant dispensing by age, sex, state of residence, and prescriber specialty - United States, 2014-2019. Drug Alcohol Depend 2020;217:108297. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108297
  6. Quintero J, Gutiérrez-Casares JR, Álamo C. Molecular characterisation of the mechanism of action of stimulant drugs lisdexamfetamine and methylphenidate on ADHD neurobiology: a review. Neurol Ther 2022;11(4):1489-517. doi:10.1007/s40120-022-00392-2
  7. Cândido RC, Menezes de Padua CA, Golder S, Junqueira DR. Immediate-release methylphenidate for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2021;1(1): CD013011. doi:10.1002/14651858. CD013011.pub2
  8. Moharram M, Kiang T. Pharmacokinetics of long-acting methylphenidate: formulation differences, bioequivalence, interchangeability. Eur J Drug Metab Pharmacokinet 2024;49(2):149-70. doi:10.1007/s13318-023-00873-1
  9. Javed N, Ahmed F, Saeed S, Amir R, Khan H, Iqbal SP. Prevalence of methylphenidate misuse in medical colleges in Pakistan: a cross-sectional study. Cureus 2019;11(10): e5879. doi:10.7759/cureus.5879
  10. Eslami AA, Jalilian F, Ataee M, Mirzaei Alavijeh M, Mahboubi M, Afsar A, et al. Intention and willingness in understanding Ritalin misuse among Iranian medical college students: a cross-sectional study. Glob J Health Sci 2014;6(6):43-53. doi:10.5539/gjhs.v6n6p43
  11. Jaeschke RR, Sujkowska E, Sowa-Kućma M. Methylphenidate for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adults: a narrative review. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2021;238(10):2667-91. doi:10.1007/s00213-021-05946-0
  12. Jain R, Chang CC, Koto M, Geldenhuys A, Nichol R, Joubert G. Non-medical use of methylphenidate among medical students of the University of the Free State. S Afr J Psychiatr 2017;23:1006. doi:10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v23.1006
  13. Sadeghi Bimorgh M, Akbarzadeh F, Ayati Afin A, Talaei A, Jafarian T, Mir Teimouri M, et al. Prevalence of nonmedical use of Ritalin among medical students of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. Journal of Fundamentals of Mental Health 2023;25(1):29-34. doi:10.22038/jfmh.2023.21808
  14. Cohen YG, Segev RW, Shlafman N, Novack V, Ifergane G. Methylphenidate use among medical students at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. J Neurosci Rural Pract 2015;6(3):320- 5. doi:10.4103/0976-3147.158749
  15. Finger G, Silva ER, Falavigna A. Use of methylphenidate among  medical students: a systematic review. Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992) 2013;59(3):285-9. doi:10.1016/j.ramb.2012.10.007 
  16. De Bruyn S, Wouters E, Ponnet K, Van Hal G. Popping smart pills in medical school: are competition and stress associated with the misuse of prescription stimulants among students? Subst Use Misuse 2019;54(7):1191-202. doi:10.1080/10826 084.2019.1572190 
  17. Jalilian F, Karami Matin B, Mirzaei Alavijeh M, Ataee M, Mahboubi M, Motlagh F, et al. Prevalence and factor related to Ritalin abuse among Iranian medical college student: an application of theory of planned behavior. Ter Arkhiv 2013;85(4s):22-7. 
  18. Habibzadeh A, Alizadeh M, Malek A, Maghbooli L, Shoja MM, Ghabili K. Illicit methylphenidate use among Iranian medical students: prevalence and knowledge. Drug Des Devel Ther 2011;5:71-6. doi:10.2147/dddt.S13818 
  19. Chan AY, Ma TT, Lau WC, Ip P, Coghill D, Gao L, et al. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder medication consumption in 64 countries and regions from 2015 to 2019: a longitudinal study. EClinicalMedicine 2023;58:101780. doi:10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101780 
  20. Jahed Taherani H, Dadgar Moghadam M, Baseri H. Frequency of methylphenidate (Ritalin) consumption and its associated factors in medical students. Razavi J Med 2018;6(3):11-6. doi:10.30483/rijm.2018.20 
  21. Fallah G, Moudi S, Hamidia A, Bijani A. Stimulant use in medical students and residents requires more careful attention. Caspian J Intern Med 2018;9(1):87-91. doi:10.22088/ cjim.9.1.87 
  22. Khademi L, Shariat SV. Prevalence of nonmedical use of methylphenidate (Ritalin) in residents of Tehran University of Medical Sciences and their attitude toward methylphenidate use. Iran J Psychiatry Clin Psychol 2013;19(1):20-7. 
  23. Karami Matin B, Jalilian F, Ahmadi Jouybari T, Mirzaei Alavijeh M, Aghaei A, Ataee M. Illicit use of Ritalin among Iranian college student: prevalence, motive and attitude. International Science Index 2014;7:666-8.
Addiction & Health
Volume 18
Pages 1-6

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics