Prevalence and correlates of self-reported substance use among undergraduate students in a medical college of North India: An observational study

Abstract Background: Medical education in India has been one of the toughest professional courses. A student away from home has full independence to try new things. Addictive substances are one of them. Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence and correlates of self-reported substance use in the last 6 months among apparently healthy undergraduate medical students. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was carried out at a tertiary care hospital and medical college located in Faridabad, Haryana, among medical undergraduates admitted between 2018 and 2021. Two hundred and twenty-four students were approached using stratified random sampling. Stratification was done according to the year of admission of students. Self-reported use of any substance in the last 6 months was the outcome variable. Results: The prevalence of self-reported substance use in the last 6 months among the medical undergraduate students was 27.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 21.7–33.3). Alcohol was used by majority (91.9%; 95% CI: 83.2–96.9%), and tobacco use was reported by 38.7% (95% CI: 27.3–51.1%); maximum among prefinal-year students (45.5%). The prevalence of any substance use was higher among those who had a history of use of alcohol in family (58.3% [95% CI: 44.3–72.2]) and those who used any type of substance before joining undergraduate medical course (80% [95% CI: 55.6–94.0]). Conclusion: More than one-fourth of students self-reported the use of any substance use. The pocket money obtained by students, their family history of use of alcohol, and male sex were determinants of substance use.