NCJ Number
156666
Journal
Journal of the American Medical Association Volume: 267 Issue: 17 Dated: (May 6, 1992) Pages: 2333-2339
Date Published
1992
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of substance use among U.S. physicians based on a design that used a self-report survey of 13 substances and permitted comparison with results of the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse.
Abstract
Study participants included a national sample of 9,600 physicians, stratified by specialty and career stage and randomly selected from the American Medical Association's master file. Findings revealed that physicians were less likely to have used cigarettes and illicit substances such as marijuana, cocaine, and heroin in the past year than their age and gender counterparts in the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. Physicians were more likely to have used alcohol, minor opiates, and benzodiazepine tranquilizers. Prescription substances uwere used primarily for self-treatment, whereas illicit substances and alcohol were used primarily for recreation. Current daily use of illicit substances was rare. The higher prevalence of alcohol use among physicians may have been more characteristic of their socioeconomic class than of their profession. A unique concern for physicians, however, was their high rate of self-treatment with controlled medications, a practice that could increase the risk of drug dependence. The authors conclude that uniform national guidelines are needed to sensitize medical students and physicians to the dangers of self-treatment with controlled prescription substances. 33 references and 5 tables