Consumo de drogas en la población de Santiago

Abstract

During 1993 and 1994 a continuous health survey was performed in an aleatory sample of 1.000 homes and 4.663 people from Santiago. The head of the family and his wife identified members of the family with drug use problems. According with this information a 0,85% of the population over 15 years of age has drug problems. Main registered types of addiction are marihuana and benzodiazepines and to less extent, abuse of cocaine, amphetamines or neopren inhalers. Abnormal consumption of alcohol is frequently linked to other drug abuse. Prevalence of addicts is 2,3 times more frequent in men, and people 20-29 years old doubled the prevalence of other ages groups. In young men, a 91% of cases were marihuana addicts. Highest prevalence were registered in middle level communities of the city and in people with low income and university education level. Drug addicts come from families which structures differ from families without problems. A higher insatisfaction with life; three times higher incidence of accidents; 2,5 times more blood hypertension and 7 times more psychoneurosis diagnosis are registered in drug addicts in comparison with general population. A majority of cases received medical care in the public sector of Santiago’s health services.