PATTERNS OF NON-STEROIDAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUG AND OPIOID USE AND MISUSE AMONG IRAQI HEALTHCARE STUDENTS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Objectives: To estimate how often Iraqi healthcare students use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and are exposed to prescription opioids, identify patterns in that use, assess their awareness of related risks and indicators of potentially problematic opioid use, and examine demographic factors associated with medication-use behaviors. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was conducted during October-November 2025 among 790 undergraduate students in Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dentistry from several Iraqi universities. Participants were recruited through convenience sampling. Categorical variables are reported as n (%). Six prespecified chi-square tests were conducted, with degrees of freedom and Cramer’s V also reported, using a Bonferroni-corrected alpha of 0.0083. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios for NSAID and opioid exposure. Results: Females made up 78.9% of the participants. In the processed dataset, 674 participants (85.3%) reported NSAID use, while 198 (25.1%) were classified as prescription opioid users. Of those who used opioids, 60 (30.3%) reported use within 30 days, 71 (35.9%) within the past 12 months, and 67 (33.8%) more than 12 months earlier. Unsuccessful efforts to reduce or stop use were reported by 48.5% of opioid users, and 34.8% reported withdrawal-like symptoms. These findings are screening indicators, not diagnoses. After Bonferroni correction, none of the six exploratory Chi-square associations remained significant; effect sizes were small (Cramer’s V=0.052–.089). Conclusion: NSAID use and prescription opioid exposure were common in this convenience sample. Still, the data do not justify causal or population-level conclusions. They do point to the value of targeted education about safe analgesic use and prospective research based on probability sampling and validated diagnostic instruments.