title: Lifetime prevalence of alcohol and substance use in Egypt: a community survey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of substance use and addiction in Egypt and study its sociodemographic correlates.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 44,000 subjects were interviewed from 8 governorates by stratified sampling. A questionnaire derived from the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) was individually administered.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The lifetime prevalence of any substance use varies between 7.25% and 14.5%. One-month prevalence varies between 5.4% and 11.5% when adjusted to different population parameters. A total of 4832 subjects were identified as using illicit substances at least once in their life (9.6%), including 1329 experimental and social use (3.3%), 1860 regular use (4.64%), and 629 substance dependence (1.6%). The prevalence of substance use in males is 13.2% and 1.1% in females. Prevalence increases significantly in males of Bedouin origin, in seaside governorates, with lesser levels of education, and in certain occupations. The 15-19 age group showed the highest onset of substance use. Cannabis is the drug mostly misused in Egypt; alcohol is a distant second.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of substance use is lower than Western countries and higher compared with a 1996 survey. The true population prevalence is probably higher due to underreporting. The demographic pattern reflects availability and accessibility to drugs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt. emadhamdi@doctors.net.uk
authors.forename: Emad
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hamdi
authors.forename: Tarek
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gawad
authors.forename: Aref
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khoweiled
authors.forename: Albert Edward
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Sidrak
authors.forename: Dalal
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Amer
authors.forename: Rania
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mamdouh
authors.forename: Heba
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fathi
authors.forename: Nasser
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Loza
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003625:Data Collection; D004534:Egypt / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*