Investigation of Addiction Potential and Its Related Health Profile in Medical Students

BACKGROUND: Substance use among medical students is a concern due to its relationship with students’ health and the nature of the medical profession. Therefore, this study aimed to assess addiction potential and its relationship with health in medical students. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 medical students who were selected through convenience sampling. Students’ demographic information, including age, gender, marital status, place of residence, educational level, and substance abuse in first-degree relatives (FDRs), as well as information obtained from the Duke Health Profile and Iranian Addiction Potential Scale (IAPS), were collected in person or online and analyzed using SPSS software (v. 26). FINDINGS: The mean age of the participants was 23.27±2.4 years and 57.5% of the participants were female. The results indicated a statistically significant relationship between addiction potential score and gender, family history of substance use, and educational level, but not with age, marital status, or place of residence. Moreover, a significant negative correlation was observed between addiction potential and physical, mental, social, and general health scores. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that paying special attention to the health of medical students and planning to improve their health indicators can effectively reduce addiction potential.