Epidemiology of Inhalant Abuse - Archives - National Institute on ...

environments. Males range in age from 8 to 30 years, with an average
age <strong>of</strong> 22.7 years, females range in age from 15 to 28 years, with an
average age <strong>of</strong> 22.4 years (figure 7). They first tried inhalants
betweenages 8 and 12 years. Only 10 percent received continuous
treatment. Eighty percent <strong>of</strong> registered clients were gypsies. In the
previous regime, it was strictly forbidden to ask about ethnicity or
religion.
More research is needed on the circumstances and conditions that put one
population at more risk than another and what cultural norms and values
are related to drug abuse.
CSONGRAD COUNTY, SZEGED CITY
Csongrad County is considered the most vulnerable area for drug
abuse in the county. This is because the region neighbors the former
Yugoslavia, resulting in heavy drug traffic entering the country, exposure
to a cultural heritage that impacts patterns <strong>of</strong> alcoholism, and a high
suicide rate. As a result, there has been a sharply increasing trend <strong>of</strong> drug
abuse. This region pioneered efforts in treating drug addicts and drew
national attention to the issue. The founder <strong>of</strong> the drug outpatient clinic
and former director <strong>of</strong> the Mental Health Center for Adolescents in this
area, Dr. Teresia Farkasinszky, was the first in the country to collect data
on the drug-abusing population and to emphasize the need for a detection
and treatment system in the city <strong>of</strong> Szeged. She published widely on glue
sniffing in 1976. She found that, out <strong>of</strong> 50 glue-sniffing subjects, 88
percent were under age 14, 82 percent were males, 36 percent came from
broken homes, and 46 percent came from dysfunctional families
(Farkasinszky 1976). Tracking the trend <strong>of</strong> abused drugs, she noted the
dramatic change in drug abuse patterns from inhalant abuse to the abuse
<strong>of</strong> opiates and other drugs in the mid-1980s (figure 8). Later she reported
the data she collected between 1975-1986 on the magnitude <strong>of</strong> drug
abuse in 467 individuals.
Of 430 registered drug users, 21 percent used inhalants as their primary
drug <strong>of</strong> choice, while opiates were used by 68 percent and 9 percent used
marijuana. There was a tenfold increase in the number <strong>of</strong> registered
patients seen in treatment. These unpublished data were provided by
Karoly Zelenai and colleagues; Dr. Zelenai assisted in the analysis <strong>of</strong> the
data and directs the clinic at present.
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