Self-Reported Sedative Drug Use Among Students Attending at University of Gondar, Gondar, Northwest, Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Medical students experience significant psychological stress and are therefore at higher risk of using sedatives. There are currently no studies describing the prevalence of sedative drug use among medical students in Ethiopia. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of self-reported sedative drug use among medical students attending the College of Medicine and Health Science (CMHS) students at the University of Gondar (UoG). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted from May to July 2018 in CMHS at UoG. Data were collected using a pre-tested self-administered standard questionnaire. Data were collected, entered into a computer using Epi Info 7 software, and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Frequency, mean, and standard deviation were used to describe descriptive statistics, and binary and multiple logistic regression analyses were used to assess the association between different variables and sedative drug use; P <0.05 was used to declare association. RESULTS: Of the 422 students who returned questionnaires, 26 (6.2%) participants were reported sedative drug use at some time since enrollment. Of these, 61.54% participants used antihistamine drugs. Smoking status (AOR (95% CI), 0.046 (0.009–0.241) P = 0.0001), stimulant use (AOR (95% CI), 0.220 (0.062–0.780) P = 0.019), sleeping hour (AOR (95% CI), 9.931 (4.155–14.785) P = 0.001) and sleep disorder (AOR (95% CI), 0.149 (0.033–0.680) P = 0.014) were significantly associated with sedative drug use. CONCLUSION: Self-reported sedative drug use among medical students at the University of Gondar is relatively low, and antihistamines are the most commonly used drugs. Smoking, stimulant use, sleeping hour, and the presence of sleep disorders were associated with sedative drug use.