Prevalencia y factores asociados al consumo de marihuana en adolescentes escolarizados de Colombia, en el 2016

Prevalence and factors associated with marijuana use in school adolescents in Colombia, in 2016

Abstract

Introduction: Marijuana is conceived as a low-risk drug, which is considered illegal in Colombia, although it is the most widely consumed drug by adolescents.

Objective: To describe the prevalence and examine the factors associated with marijuana use during the last 30 days by adolescents in school in Colombia.

Method: Cross-sectional analytical study. Sample consisted of 80,018 adolescents between 12 and 18 years of age in school. An “adolescent marijuana user” is considered as one who declared having consumed marijuana during the last thirty days. Variables of interest were considered: sex, age, type of school, episodes of suicidal ideation and deliberate self-injury, the existence of academic and disciplinary performance problems. A description of the prevalence of marijuana was made for each of the variables of interest. Associations were estimated using generalized linear models, all analyzes were adjusted for the expansion factor.

Results: The prevalence of marijuana use in the last 30 days was 4.3% (95% CI 4.1%-4.6%). The highest prevalence of consumption was recorded in adolescents who had reported 3 or more times of suicidal ideation in the last 12 months, and in those who accused 3 or more times of deliberate self-injury in the last 12 months (10.4% and 10. 0%, respectively). An association was found with all the variables studied.

Conclusions: A strong association was found between marijuana use and the presence of episodes of deliberate self-injury and episodes of suicidal ideation in school adolescents.