Pediatrics

Biography

Biography: Emmanuel Rudatsikira

Abstract

The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of cannabis use and its socio-demographic correlates among in-school adolescents. We conducted secondary analysis of data obtained from the 2004 Zambia Global School-Based Health Survey. Logistic regressions analysis was conducted to identify the socio-demographic factors associated with cannabis use. A total of 2,257 adolescents participated in the survey, of which 53.9% were females. The overall prevalence of self-reported ever-used cannabis was 37.2% (34.5% among males and 39.5% among females). In multivariate analysis, males were 8% (AOR=0.92; 95% CI [0.89, 0.95]) less likely to have ever smoked cannabis. Compared to adolescents aged 16 years or older, adolescents aged 14 years were 45% (AOR=1.45; 95% CI [1.37, 1.55]) more likely, and those aged 15 years were 44% (AOR=1.56; 95% CI [0.53, 0.60]) less likely to report having ever smoked cannabis. Other factors that were significantly associated with cannabis use were history of having engaged in sexual intercourse (AOR=2.55; 95% CI [2.46, 2.64]), alcohol use (AOR=4.38; 95% CI [4.24, 4.53]), and having been bullied (AOR=1.77; 95% CI [1.71, 1.83]). Adolescents who reported being supervised by parents during free time were less likely to have smoked cannabis (AOR=0.92; 95% CI [0.88, 0.95]). The use of cannabis is prevalent among Zambian in-school adolescents. Efforts to prevent drug use among Zambian adolescents should be designed considering the factors associated with drug use in this study.