TY - JOUR
T1 - Drug use and needle sharing among adolescents and young adults in Nigeria
T2 - A cross-sectional secondary analysis of data from a multi-site clinical trial
AU - Agunbiade, Simisola
AU - Gbaja-Biamila, Titilola
AU - Oladele, David
AU - Obiezu-Umeh, Chisom
AU - Musa, Adesola Zaidat
AU - Blessing, Lateef Akeem
AU - Tahlil, Kadija Muse
AU - Akinsolu, Folahanmi Tomiwa
AU - Conserve, Donaldson F.
AU - Adeoti, Ebenezer
AU - Xian, Hong
AU - Kuriakose, Kevin
AU - Iwelunmor, Juliet
AU - Ezechi, Oliver
AU - Tucker, Joseph
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025
PY - 2025/6/1
Y1 - 2025/6/1
N2 - Background: Adolescents and young adults (AYA, 14–24 years old) have the highest rates of drug use in most low- and middle-income countries. Little is known about the drivers of drug use among AYA in Nigeria and harm reduction services are limited. Methods: A secondary data analysis was performed of the baseline survey of the ‘I-TEST’ study involving AYA in Nigeria. The two primary outcomes of interest were lifetime measures of drug use and needle sharing. Logistic regression analyses were performed to obtain odds ratios for the associations between socio-demographic exposures and the two primary outcomes. Odds ratios were subsequently adjusted for age and sex. Results: 1500 AYA survey responses were analysed. Respondents were mostly unemployed, students, and living in southern Nigeria. Drug use was reported by 301/1500(20.3 %) AYA. Among these, 213/301(71.5 %) reported needle sharing. Drug use did not vary by age (OR:0.94, 95 %CI:0.73–1.22) or sex (OR:1.00, 95 %CI:0.77–1.28). AYA in the North-Central zone had higher odds of drug use (OR:1.86, 95 %CI:1.28–2.69) and needle sharing (OR:2.51, 95 %CI:1.07–5.91) compared to AYA in the South-West zone of Nigeria. AYA aged 14–19 had higher odds of needle sharing compared to those aged 20–24 (OR:3.49, 95 %CI:1.94–6.26). Female AYA had higher odds of needle sharing compared to males (OR:5.05, 95 %CI:2.85–8.95). Conclusions: Drug use and needle sharing are common among AYA in Nigeria. There is an urgent need for harm reduction services and research informed by AYA.
AB - Background: Adolescents and young adults (AYA, 14–24 years old) have the highest rates of drug use in most low- and middle-income countries. Little is known about the drivers of drug use among AYA in Nigeria and harm reduction services are limited. Methods: A secondary data analysis was performed of the baseline survey of the ‘I-TEST’ study involving AYA in Nigeria. The two primary outcomes of interest were lifetime measures of drug use and needle sharing. Logistic regression analyses were performed to obtain odds ratios for the associations between socio-demographic exposures and the two primary outcomes. Odds ratios were subsequently adjusted for age and sex. Results: 1500 AYA survey responses were analysed. Respondents were mostly unemployed, students, and living in southern Nigeria. Drug use was reported by 301/1500(20.3 %) AYA. Among these, 213/301(71.5 %) reported needle sharing. Drug use did not vary by age (OR:0.94, 95 %CI:0.73–1.22) or sex (OR:1.00, 95 %CI:0.77–1.28). AYA in the North-Central zone had higher odds of drug use (OR:1.86, 95 %CI:1.28–2.69) and needle sharing (OR:2.51, 95 %CI:1.07–5.91) compared to AYA in the South-West zone of Nigeria. AYA aged 14–19 had higher odds of needle sharing compared to those aged 20–24 (OR:3.49, 95 %CI:1.94–6.26). Female AYA had higher odds of needle sharing compared to males (OR:5.05, 95 %CI:2.85–8.95). Conclusions: Drug use and needle sharing are common among AYA in Nigeria. There is an urgent need for harm reduction services and research informed by AYA.
KW - Adolescents
KW - Drug use
KW - Harm reduction
KW - Needle sharing
KW - Nigeria
KW - Young adults
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105002582618
U2 - 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2025.112666
DO - 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2025.112666
M3 - Article
C2 - 40239446
AN - SCOPUS:105002582618
SN - 0376-8716
VL - 271
JO - Drug and Alcohol Dependence
JF - Drug and Alcohol Dependence
M1 - 112666
ER -