Saeed Farooq, Javaid Akhtar, Mukhtarul Haq Azeemi, Zahid Nazar, Shajaat Ali Khan.
Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of iv drug users presenting to a tertiary care treatment centre.
J Postgrad Med Inst Jan ;20(1):3-7.

Objective: To identify the association between sociodemographic factors and injectable drug use. Material and Methods: This descriptive study was carried out in drug abuse treatment centre of psychiatry department Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar. The patients were recruited through United Nations Office, Drug and Crime Programme (UNODC). They were interviewed in detail by a psychologist and psychiatrist, through an instrument, specifically designed to collect the information about sociodemographic factors among injecting drug users. Data was recorded and analyzed by using SPSS. Result: The sample consisted of 52 injecting drug users out of the total five hounded patients (10.4%). All of them were male. Majority belonged to the age group 21-40 years (76.9%). One third of them (34.6%) were illiterate while about half (50.5%) had professional skills. About one fourth patients ( 26.9%) started drug use in early age (11-20 years), and only four patients admitted sharing syringe or needle with others patients. The most common reason for 1/V drug use was, influence of friends followed by the desire to get quick and light response. Conclusion: Problem of injectable drug use is common in the illiterate and in younger age group and needs attention of health care planners and research workers.

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