In this study, 120 drug-dependent women participated, and all women present in treatment centers during data gathering took part in the survey. It is needed to be mention; 20 participants were excluded from the study due to incomplete completion of the questionnaire and were not analyzed.
The age range of the participants was between 15 to 73 years old, with a mean age of 33.2 ± 12.1 years; of all, 33.3% of the participants were in the age group of 26-35 years old and 30.8% of the participants were in the age group of 15-25 years old. Other demographic data are presented in Table 1.
Table 1. Characteristics of the studied participants (n=120)
variables
|
Category
|
N
|
Percentage
|
AGE
|
15-25
|
37
|
30.8
|
26-35
|
40
|
33.3
|
36-45
|
25
|
20.9
|
46-55
|
10
|
8.3
|
>55
|
8
|
|
Level of
Education
|
Illiterate
|
6
|
5
|
Elementary
Education
|
29
|
24.2
|
Secondary
Education
|
62
|
51.7
|
Diploma
|
19
|
15.8
|
University
Education
|
4
|
3.3
|
Living
Condition
|
With Parent
|
7
|
5.8
|
With Father
|
3
|
2.5
|
With Mother
|
6
|
5
|
Lonely
|
47
|
39.2
|
With Family
|
57
|
47.5
|
Job Status
|
Jobless
|
73
|
60.8
|
College
Student
|
4
|
3.3
|
Student
|
6
|
5
|
Worker
|
22
|
18.3
|
Farmer
|
1
|
0.8
|
Employee
|
3
|
2.5
|
Free Job
|
8
|
6.7
|
Other
|
3
|
2.5
|
The most commonly used drugs by the study participants, which were abused in the past one month, were crystal, methadone, and heroin, with a prevalence of 53.3%, 20.8%, and 12.5%, respectively. Moreover, the most commonly used drugs by the drug-dependent women, which were abused in the past six months, were crystal, methadone, and heroin, with a prevalence of 48.3%, 18.3%, and 18.3%, respectively. The most commonly used drug in the past year was crystal, with a prevalence of
45.8%. The most commonly used drug among the studied participants, abused in their life span, was opium and its derivatives (burnt, sap, etc.) that was reported by 64.2% of the participants, followed by crystal, methadone, and heroin that, respectively, were reported by 53.3%, 49.2% and 40% of the participants (Figure 1).
Based on the results, the participants obtained only 35.3% of the maximum achievable score of the quality of life (total score of quality of life), indicating the low quality of life among the drug-dependent women in Hamadan. Moreover, considering the pain and discomfort score results, the participants obtained 38.3% of the maximum achievable scores, which indicated an unfavorable status. The participants got a score of 8.75 in the subscale of physical function (role physical), which was the minimum score among all the subscales and indicated the most favorable condition. Table 2 presents the scores of all subscales of the quality of life among the studied people.
Table 2. Mean, SD, and Range of Scores and Percentage of Mean from
Maximum Obtainable Score for Dimensions of Life Quality
QOL Dimensions
|
Mean
|
SD
|
Range
|
Percentage
|
General Health
|
34.79
|
17.2
|
0-100
|
34.7 %
|
Physical
Functioning
|
36.07
|
25.2
|
0-100
|
36.1 %
|
role physical
|
8.75
|
25.4
|
0-100
|
8.75 %
|
bodily pain
|
38.27
|
21.6
|
0-100
|
38.3 %
|
social functioning
|
44.06
|
21.1
|
0-100
|
44 %
|
mental health
|
10.56
|
26.2
|
0-100
|
10.5 %
|
vitality
|
35.79
|
19.2
|
0-100
|
35.8 %
|
role emotional
|
41.17
|
14.5
|
0-100
|
41.1 %
|
Total score of
QOL
|
35.35
|
13.5
|
0-100
|
35.3 %
|
Besides, there was a significant relationship between the women's quality of life with age (p <0.001), educational level (p = 0.011), Age at First Use (p <0.001). There was a statistically significant difference based on the post hoc analyses with Tukey tests in 15-25, 46-55 and >55 years old, Elementary and diploma level of Educations, 10-15, 16-20 and 26-30 ages at First Use which concerning means QOL were lower in adolescent and young, low educated and early drug use women. (Table 3).
Table 3. Association between QOL with demographic variables in study participants
variables
|
QOL
|
The significance level
|
Mean (SD)
|
N
|
Age
15-25
26-35
36-45
46-55
>55
|
26.88 (9.96)
28.78 (8.94)
34.87 (13.51)
40.51 (21.87)
42.46 (21.5)
|
37
40
25
10
8
|
F=4.85
P<0.001
|
Level of Education
Illiterate
Elementary Education
Secondary Education
Diploma
University Education
|
24.57 (3.71)
25.61(6.23)
32.36 (15.80)
36.58 (9.72)
42.75 (21.04)
|
6
29
62
19
4
|
F=3.46
P=0.011
|
Age at First Use
10-15
16-20
21-25
26-30
|
25.66 (7.74)
38.77 (16.31)
34.75 (6.79)
41.22 (17.18)
|
70
23
6
21
|
F=13.57
P<0.001
|
Living Condition
With Parent
With Father
With Mother
Lonely
With Family
|
35.02 (19.35)
38.25 (29.88)
36.98 (8.06)
29.60 (11.58)
31.388 (13.80)
|
7
3
6
47
57
|
F=0.78
P=0.54
|
Job
Jobless
College Student
Student
Worker
Farmer
Employee
Free Job
Other
|
32.11 (14.9)
26.96 (5.73)
27.61 (4.95)
26.25 (7.27)
32.26 (0)
24.4 (6.36)
41.1 (17.91)
40.82 (1.39)
|
73
4
6
22
1
3
8
3
|
F=1.72
P=0.11
|
The National Drug Strategy framework suggested several drug types that cause the most harm. This classification included: alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, methamphetamines (e.g., MDMA) and other stimulants such as cocaine, new psychoactive substances — synthetic drugs, opioids, including heroin, the non-medical use of prescription drugs (21). Base on this framework, we classified substances into five categories" cannabis category included marijuana, cannabis; opium category included opium, heroin, methadone, tramadol and, crack; the non-medical use of prescription drug category included norjizak; methamphetamine category included ecstasy (MDMA), crystal; cocaine category include cocaine. The present analysis of crack's chemical combination showed that this substance in Iran is a heroin-based narcotic that is different from the cocaine-based crack used in Western countries (22).
Based on the simple linear regression analysis results, the methamphetamine category (B = -6.62) was identified as the predictor of the quality of life of the women who participated in the study (Table 4).
Table 4. Linear regression analysis to predict the QOL base on substance abuse
Independent
Variables
|
B
|
SE
|
β
|
95% CI
|
P-value
|
Lower
|
Upper
|
Cannabis category
|
-5.50
|
2.89
|
-0.17
|
-11.21
|
0.22
|
0.059
|
Opium category
|
7.21
|
4.66
|
0.14
|
-2.01
|
16.44
|
0.12
|
Methamphetamine category
|
-6.62
|
2.44
|
-0.24
|
-11.45
|
-1.79
|
0.008
|
Cocaine category
|
-9.82
|
13.61
|
-0.06
|
-36.48
|
17.41
|
0.49
|
β: Standardized regression coefficient, SE: Standard error, CI: Confidence
Interval.