Prevalence, Demographic Characteristics and Comorbid Psychiatric Disorders in Children and Adolescents with Substance Use Disorder in Iran

The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of substance use disorder in Iranian children and adolescents and its relationship with demographic characteristics and psychiatric comorbidities.

The data were taken from a national survey on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in Iranian children and adolescents. The national survey was conducted on 30,532 children and adolescents aged 6-18 years which were selected using multistage cluster sampling. The psychiatric disorders were assessed by employing k-SADS-PL questionnaire and interviews carried out by 240 clinical psychologists with the participants and their parents. Data were analyzed by Chi-square test and logistic regression.

A total of 277 (0.97%) were diagnosed as people with substance use disorder that were further studied for comorbid disorders. Among the various types of drugs, hypnotic/sedative/anti-anxiety drugs were abused by 84 people (46.15%), cannabis by 68 (37.36%) and stimulants by 43 (23.63%). The variables of gender, place of residence, and father’s occupation and parents’ education level were identified as predictors of substance use disorder in children and adolescents. At the same time, 42.50% substances and alcohol abusing people had at least one comorbid psychiatric disorder and the highest comorbidity was observed in oppositional defiant disorder, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and separation anxiety disorder (p≤0.05).

The findings can be used in the prevention and treatment of substance use disorder and promotion of mental health in children and adolescents by focusing on the psychiatric comorbidities of people with substance use disorder.