Patterns of non-medical use of methylphenidate among 5th and 6th year students in a medical school in southern Brazil

To evaluate the prevalence of methylphenidate (MPH) use among 5th and 6th year medical students, to discriminate MPH use with and without medical indication, and to correlate MPH use with alcohol intake. This is a cross-sectional study in which medical students were invited to answer a questionnaire...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Trends in psychiatry and psychotherapy Vol. 36; no. 2; p. 101
Main Authors:	Silveira, Rodrigo da Rosa, Lejderman, Betina, Ferreira, Pedro Eugênio Mazzucchi Santana, Rocha, Gibsi Maria Possapp da
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Brazil Associação de Psiquiatria do Rio Grande do Sul - Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy 01-06-2014 Associação de Psiquiatria do Rio Grande do Sul
Subjects:	Alcohol use College students Drug use Health education Metilfenidato PSYCHIATRY Psychotropic drugs transtorno do déficit de atenção com hiperatividade ética alcohol abuse ética Metilfenidato transtorno do déficit de atenção com hiperatividade attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity ethics Methylphenidate
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Summary:	To evaluate the prevalence of methylphenidate (MPH) use among 5th and 6th year medical students, to discriminate MPH use with and without medical indication, and to correlate MPH use with alcohol intake. This is a cross-sectional study in which medical students were invited to answer a questionnaire to evaluate academic and socioeconomic status, MPH use patterns, and attitudes towards neuroenhancing drugs. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was used to assess alcohol intake; a score ≥ 8 suggests potentially hazardous alcohol use. Fifty-two participants (34.2%) had already used MPH, of which 35 (23.02%) had used it without medical indication. The number of 6th year students who had used MPH was more than twice higher than that of their 5th year counterparts (32.89 vs. 13.15%, respectively; p = 0.004). Also, 43.6% (p = 0.031) of the users of MPH had an AUDIT score ≥ 8; 33.3% (p = 0.029) of non-medical users of MPH had an AUDIT score ≥ 8. In this study, the use of MPH without medical indication was prevalent. Our findings also confirmed the association between non-medical use of MPH and potentially hazardous alcohol use.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	2238-0019 2238-0019
DOI:	10.1590/2237-6089-2013-0065