Assessment of the association between the use of psychiatric drugs and addictive substances and related factors among medical students of Azad University in Zahedan

Background & Aim: The previous studies in Iran and around the world show the high consumption of psychiatric and addictive drugs.  In this regard, the university students are at high risk of substance abuse. The purpose of this study was the assessment of the association between the use of psychiatric drugs and addictive substances and related factors among medical students of Azad University in Zahedan. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on 260 students that were selected using stratified random sampling. The data were collected using interview and registered in questionnaire. The subjects were asked about history, type and method of prescription for consumption of psychiatric drugs, history of referring to psychologist and conditions for using addictive drugs. Data were analyzed in Stata.14 using chi square test and multiple logistic regression with Odds Ratios. Results: The prevalence of using psychiatric and addictive drugs was 35% and 27.7%, respectively. The consumption of psychiatric drugs was related to using addictive drugs, history of referring to psychologist, sex and marital status (P<0.05).On the other hand, the use of addictive drugs was related to sex, field of study, living place and having smoker friends (P<0.05). Conclusion: As compared with previous studies, the use of these drugs among university students of medical sciences is relatively high. It seems that   providing themedical students with proper consultation  and those  with history of referring to  psychiatrist and also students that live in private houses (rather than shared dormitories) can decrease the use of addictive  substances, especially smoking and psychiatric drugs without prescription among the university students.