ACMJ
Anatolian Current Medical Journal

Anatolian Current Medical Journal (ACMJ) is an unbiased, peer-reviewed, and open access international medical journal. The Journal publishes interesting clinical and experimental research conducted in all fields of medicine, interesting case reports, and clinical images, invited reviews, editorials, letters, comments, and related knowledge.

eISSN: 2718-0115
Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International License.
EndNote Style

Submit Manuscript

Index
Original Article
Evaluation of alcohol, substance and antidepressant drug use of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic
Abstract
Aims: This study aimed to investigate how the mental tension and environmental conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic affected the alcohol and substance use habits of university students and the changes in the rates of antidepressant drug use for mood disorders due to the pandemic. Material and
Methods: This cross-sectional survey study was conducted using an electronic survey completed by university students in Turkey between the years 2021-2022. Our study consisted of a questionnaire prepared to collect the demographic information of the participants and the Bapirt-Alcohol/Substance scale used to determine alcohol/substance addiction level. The survey, which took 5 minutes to complete, was randomly distributed to university students.
Results: A total of 641 participants, approximately 66% female and 34% male, between the ages of 18 and 41 years were included in the study. The mean alcohol dependence scores before and during the COVID-19 pandemic were 0.91 and 1.35 and substance addiction scores were found to be 0.17 and 0.33. There was a significant difference in the average alcohol and substance addiction scores of the students during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period (for alcohol addiction: p=0.000; for substance addiction: p=0.007). Students who perceived their income level as mostly low had significantly higher alcohol addiction scores during the pandemic period compared to pre-COVID-19 (p=0.014). Compared to the pre-pandemic period, the average alcohol and substance addiction scores were found to be significantly higher in students residing in dormitories/student houses during the pandemic period (p=0.014 for alcohol; p=0.001 for substances). Antidepressant drug use rates of the participants were found to be higher during the pandemic period compared to the pre-pandemic period.
Conclusion: As a result of this study, when the addiction levels for alcohol and substance use in university students before the COVID-19 pandemic and during the pandemic were compared, addiction increased in general. The prevalence of depression increased due to changing lifestyles and disruptions as a result of the pandemic, and accordingly, serious increases were observed in the use of antidepressant drugs.

Keywords : COVID-19, alcohol, substance, addiction, antidepressant

Download Article


1. Szabo G, Saha B. Alcohol’s effect on host defense. Alcohol Res2015; 37: 159-70.
2. Simet SM, Sisson JH. Alcohol’s effects on lung health andimmunity. Alcohol Res 2015; 37: 199-208.
3. Kültegin Ö. Bağımlılığı önleme: anne-babalar öğretmenler içinkılavuz. Türkiye-İstanbul: IQ Kültür Sanat Yayıncılık; 2000.
4. Testino G. Are patients with alcohol use disorders at increasedrisk for COVID-19 infection?. Alcohol Alcohol 2020; 55: 344-46.
5. Güven BB, Ertürk T, Yıldız E, Durmayüksel E, Ersoy A, Tanoğlu A. Our convalescent plasma experiences in COVID-19 patientshospitalized in the intensive care unit. J Health Sci Med 2022; 5:600-6.
6. Çelik F, Demirel G. The impact of coronavirus pandemic onsmoking behaviors in university students: an online survey inTurkey. Turk J Pharm Sci 2022; 19: 416-21
7. Dumas TM, Ellis W, Litt DM. What does adolescent substanceuse look like during the COVID-19 pandemic? examiningchanges in frequency, social contexts and pandemic-relatedpredictors. J Adolesc Health 2020, 67: 354-61.
8. Özbay Y, Yılmaz S, Büyüköztürk Ş, et al. Madde bağımlılığı:temiz bir yaşam için bireyin güçlendirilmesi. Addicta 2018; 5:81−130.
9. Çakıcı M, Çakıcı E, Eş A. Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti liseöğrencilerinde psikoaktif maddeleri kullanma yaygınlığı. AlphaPsychiatry 2010; 11: 206-12
10. Thatcher DL, Clark DB. Adolescents at risk for substance usedisorders: role of psychological dysregulation, endophenotypes,and environmental influences. Alcohol Res Health 2008; 31: 168-76.
11. Baysan Arabacı L, Taş G, Dikeç G. Çocuk ve ergenlerde maddekullanımı, suça yönelme, ruhsal bozukluklar ve hemşirelikbakımı. Bağımlı. Derg 2017; 18: 135-44.
12. Griffin KW, Botvin GJ, Nichols TR. Long-term follow-up effectsof a school-based drug abuse prevention program on adolescentrisky driving. Prev Sci 2004; 5: 207-12.
13. Lundahl LH, Cannoy C. COVID-19 and substance use inadolescents. Pediatr Clin North Am 2021; 68: 977-90.
14. Lechner WV, Laurene KR, Patel S, Anderson M, Grega C, KenneDR. Changes in alcohol use as a function of psychological distressand social support following COVID-19 related universityclosings. Addict Behav 2020; 110: 106527.
15. Althobaiti YS, Alzahrani MA, Alsharif NA, Alrobaie NS, AlsaabHO, Uddin MN. The possible relationship between the abuseof tobacco, opioid, or alcohol with COVID-19. Health (Basel)2020; 9: 2.
16. Wu P, Liu X, Fang Y, et al. Alcohol abuse/dependence symptomsamong hospital employees exposed to a SARS outbreak. AlcoholAlcohol 2008; 43: 706-12.
17. Ahmed MZ, Ahmed O, Aibao Z, Hanbin S, Siyu L, Ahmad A.Epidemic of COVID-19 in China and associated psychologicalproblems. Asian J Psychiatr 2020; 51: 102092.
18. Byrnes J, Miller D, Schafer W. Gender differences in risk taking: ameta-analysis. Psychol Bull 1999; 125: 367-83.
19. Kendler KS, Karkowski LM, Prescott CA. Causal relationshipbetween stressful life events and the onset of major depression.Am J Psychiatry 1999; 156: 837-41.
20. Yang L, Zhao Y, Wang Y, et al. The effects of psychological stresson depression. Curr Neuropharmacol 2020; 13: 494-504.21. Rajkumar RP. COVID-19 and mental health: a review of theexisting literature. Asian J Psychiatr 2020; 52: 102066
21. Rabeea SA, Merchant HA, Khan MU, Kow CS, Hasan SS. Surgingtrends in prescriptions and costs of antidepressants in Englandamid COVID-19. Daru 2021; 29: 217-21.
22. America’s State of Mind Report. Date of access: August 16, 2022Available online: https://www.express-scripts.com/corporate/americas-state-of-mind-report.
Article available in :
Volume 5, Issue 1, 2023
Page : 1-6
https://doi.org/10.38053/acmj.1169944
Article Information
Submitted : 01 Eyl 2022
Accepted : 17 Eki 2022
Corresponding Author :

Göksun Demirel: Department of Pharmaceutical Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Çukurova University, Adana, Turkey

[email protected]
Citation : Bulgan C, Demirel G. Evaluation of alcohol, substance and antidepressant drug use of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Anatolian Curr Med J 2023; 5(1); 1-6.

Read: 80
Cited: 0
Download : 112
_Footer