Prevalence of substance abuse and associated mental health disorders in Kenyan students

Background: The earlier younger people begin to use drugs, the more vulnerable they become to short- and long-term harmful effects.

Methods: This cross-sectional study examined 9,742 high school, college and university students, documenting socio-demographic characteristics, economic indicators, drug and alcohol use perceptions, and DSM-IV related psychiatric disorders using basic descriptive statistics and logistic regression models.

Results: Mean age was 21.4 +/- 2.4 years. A wide range of different drugs were identified, with alcohol abuse being most common and inhalants least common. Both alcohol and drug abuse were associated with various economic indicators and mental disorders.

Conclusion: This study establishes the multifaceted associations and predictors of alcohol and drug abuse in a cross-sectional student population from high school to university levels. These associations call for an integrated, multifaceted approach to addressing substance abuse.