title: Inhalant dependence: data from a tertiary care center in South India.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study aims to understand the sociodemographic and clinical profile of inhalant abusers seeking treatment from a tertiary care psychiatric hospital in South India.
  
  
  METHODS
  The clinical charts of patients who utilized the psychiatric services of a tertiary care center in India for over 10 years were examined for the study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The sample had an urban predominance, was mostly unemployed, and was all male. Most of them had an adolescent age of onset of inhalant use (mean - 16.23 years). All patients reported the use of volatile solvents as inhalants. One other substance dependence was identified in more than half of the sample. The psychiatric comorbidity included psychosis and depression. A comparison was made between patients who presented with inhalant dependence only (I) and inhalant-dependent individuals who also used other psychoactive substances apart from nicotine (IP). The inhalant-only group (I) had an earlier mean age at onset of substance use as compared to the IP group. All patients in the I group reported withdrawal symptoms compared to 77% of patients in the (IP) group (P=0.048). The IP group reported a significantly higher occurrence of aggression (54.5 vs. 19%, P=0.02), externalizing symptoms (77.3 vs. 42.9%, P=0.03), and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (50 vs. 14.3%, P=0.02).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Inhalant dependence is a serious health problem in adolescent subjects and is associated with high comorbidity of other substance dependence, psychiatric disorder, and externalizing spectrum disorder. There is a need for community-based prospective studies in this area from India.
authors: Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
authors: Janardhanan C
authors: JC
authors: Narayanaswamy
authors: Biju
authors: B
authors: Viswanath
authors: Malvika
authors: M
authors: Ravi
authors: Kesavan
authors: K
authors: Muralidharan
keywords: Comorbidity; externalizing symptoms; inhalant abuse; substance dependence; volatile solvents