Epidemiological profile of substance abuse in Iraq: Retrospective study

BACKGROUND: The excessive and prolonged use of any relevant material is known as substance abuse. The study’s objective is to determine the epidemiology of substance abuse’s growth in Iraq over the 4 years between 2020 and 2023. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was applied for the purpos...

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Main Authors: Nasir Muwfaq Younis, Mahmoud Mohammed Ahmed, Haider Mohammed Majeed
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2025-06-01
Series:Journal of Education and Health Promotion
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jehp.jehp_1139_24
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author Nasir Muwfaq Younis
Mahmoud Mohammed Ahmed
Haider Mohammed Majeed
author_facet Nasir Muwfaq Younis
Mahmoud Mohammed Ahmed
Haider Mohammed Majeed
author_sort Nasir Muwfaq Younis
collection DOAJ
description BACKGROUND: The excessive and prolonged use of any relevant material is known as substance abuse. The study’s objective is to determine the epidemiology of substance abuse’s growth in Iraq over the 4 years between 2020 and 2023. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was applied for the purpose of collecting the sample, as the study was epidemiological and related to substance abuse among Iraqis for 4 years from the beginning of 2020 to 2023. Participants’ data were collected from records that were available in the Iraqi Ministry of Health and Environment for four consecutive years. The sample size was (22,767). The questionnaire was divided into two main parts. The first part included demographic information, including gender, target groups, and areas where substance abuse was prevalent, whereas the second part included the type of addictive substance and prevalence during the year. The data collected were analyzed using the “Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 27” method by entering the data package into the statistical program to determine the frequency and percentage. RESULTS: The study’s findings demonstrated that over 90% of the sample was male and that about half of the sample suffered from alcohol addiction. In addition, Baghdad Governorate has the highest prevalence rate among the other governorates, estimated at about%20.9. CONCLUSION: According to the results of the current study, about half of the sample abused alcohol. In contrast to the northern governorates of the nation, drug abuse was most common in the central and southern governorates of Iraq.
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spelling doaj-art-4a5fe6701fee458584646e9452de1cd22025-08-20T03:40:26ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsJournal of Education and Health Promotion2277-95312319-64402025-06-0114125525510.4103/jehp.jehp_1139_24Epidemiological profile of substance abuse in Iraq: Retrospective studyNasir Muwfaq YounisMahmoud Mohammed AhmedHaider Mohammed MajeedBACKGROUND: The excessive and prolonged use of any relevant material is known as substance abuse. The study’s objective is to determine the epidemiology of substance abuse’s growth in Iraq over the 4 years between 2020 and 2023. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was applied for the purpose of collecting the sample, as the study was epidemiological and related to substance abuse among Iraqis for 4 years from the beginning of 2020 to 2023. Participants’ data were collected from records that were available in the Iraqi Ministry of Health and Environment for four consecutive years. The sample size was (22,767). The questionnaire was divided into two main parts. The first part included demographic information, including gender, target groups, and areas where substance abuse was prevalent, whereas the second part included the type of addictive substance and prevalence during the year. The data collected were analyzed using the “Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 27” method by entering the data package into the statistical program to determine the frequency and percentage. RESULTS: The study’s findings demonstrated that over 90% of the sample was male and that about half of the sample suffered from alcohol addiction. In addition, Baghdad Governorate has the highest prevalence rate among the other governorates, estimated at about%20.9. CONCLUSION: According to the results of the current study, about half of the sample abused alcohol. In contrast to the northern governorates of the nation, drug abuse was most common in the central and southern governorates of Iraq.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jehp.jehp_1139_24epidemiologicaliraqretrospective studysubstance abuse
spellingShingle Nasir Muwfaq Younis
Mahmoud Mohammed Ahmed
Haider Mohammed Majeed
Epidemiological profile of substance abuse in Iraq: Retrospective study
Journal of Education and Health Promotion
epidemiological
iraq
retrospective study
substance abuse
title Epidemiological profile of substance abuse in Iraq: Retrospective study
title_full Epidemiological profile of substance abuse in Iraq: Retrospective study
title_fullStr Epidemiological profile of substance abuse in Iraq: Retrospective study
title_full_unstemmed Epidemiological profile of substance abuse in Iraq: Retrospective study
title_short Epidemiological profile of substance abuse in Iraq: Retrospective study
title_sort epidemiological profile of substance abuse in iraq retrospective study
topic epidemiological
iraq
retrospective study
substance abuse
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jehp.jehp_1139_24
work_keys_str_mv AT nasirmuwfaqyounis epidemiologicalprofileofsubstanceabuseiniraqretrospectivestudy
AT mahmoudmohammedahmed epidemiologicalprofileofsubstanceabuseiniraqretrospectivestudy
AT haidermohammedmajeed epidemiologicalprofileofsubstanceabuseiniraqretrospectivestudy