PREVALENCE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF ANALGESICS MISUSED AMONG URBAN YOUNG ADULTS OF EAST SIKKIM: A CONTROLLED, CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY
Abstract
Author(s): Deepanjana Dass, Dr. (Prof.) Bidita Khandelwal.
Prescription medications are being consumed worldwide without any medical supervision, and the improper use of prescription analgesic misuse has emerged as a serious health issue. Several studies hav e been conducted in different countries to understand the prevalence and characteristics of analgesic misuse. This study is aimed at estimating the prevalence and characteristics of analgesic misuse in an urban area of Sikkim in a young adult population (15 – 40 years of age) of either sex. A pre devised questionnaire on the population survey of analgesic misuse and brief pain inventory was administered to n=700 participants after obtaining the informed consent. Data was statistically analyzed using SPSS software. Prevalence of analgesic misuse was found to be 13%. Mostly tablets (92.30%) were being consumed, without prescription (75.80%) and only one analgesic was being used (63.70%) for almost a year or more. Majority of the participants didn’t change analgesics ever (89.0%) and never undergone any treatment for pain (83.50%). Majority of the participants were unaware of the effects of analgesic use (94.50%). Misuse of analgesics was prevalent. Most of the analgesics misused were in tablet form and were obtained without prescription and self-medication was prevalent and very few participants undergone any treatment for pain. Key words: Analgesic, Misuse, Prevalence, Characteristics, Sikkim.
