Co-morbidity of Anxiety, alcohol and substance abuse among students at the Kenya Medical Training Colleges in Kenya

Abstract

Objectives: to determine the co-morbidity between anxiety and risk ofstudents at the Kenya Medical Training CollegeMethodology:A Social Demographic, BAI and the WHO ASSIST questionnaires were administered to 3107 consenting KMTC students, of whom 1181 (group A) were in Nairobi campus and the remaining1926 (group B) were in peripheral campuses across the country.Results:Prevalence of anxiety in groups A and B were 24.4% and 23.6% for moderate anxiety and 32.1% and 31.5% for severe anxiety. The risk of abuse of all the substances had similar lin alcohol which had a significant difference between the 2 groups (p=0.016). There was significant association between co morbidity of anxiety and risk of abuse of; alcohol (p=0.040, P=0.036 in group A and B respectively) and tobacco and cannabis (p=0.022 and p=0.024 in group B respectively). Conclusion:Anxiety and risk of alcohol and drug abuse was prevalent and significantly coamong the KMTC students. These findings were similar to those from other regions of the world among college students. This calls for appropriate interventions to promote prevention, control and clinical practices.