Tendencias, patrón de consumo y perfil sociodemográfico de usuarios de heroína en tratamiento

Abstract

Introduction: opioids are the substance responsible for the highest number of deaths from drug use worldwide. According to the Survey on Drug, Alcohol and Tobacco Use in Mexico, 0.2% of the population (just over 145,000 people) have used heroin once in their lives. Objective: to analyze the trends in heroin use, including the estimation of the average annual growth rate, in patients treated at CIJ between 2013 and 2019 and to explore and compare their sociodemographic profile and pattern of use with that of users of other illicit drugs. Method: a study based on the analysis of trends and the estimation of the average annual growth rate from databases of a census registry of patients, as well as on comparative analysis, based on bivariate tests of two groups of drug users. Results: the proportion of heroin-consuming patients showed a gradual increase until the middle of the period 2013-2019, reaching its highest prevalence in 2016, to start falling from there, especially among men. The sociodemographic profile of heroin users shows a greater physical and psychosocial impact compared to those of other substances. Conclusions: there is a decrease in the demand for treatment, at least in CIJ, consistent with the prevalence observed in the general population, highlighting that this decrease does not occur among women, especially among younger women, even an increase in consumption is observed.