ABSTRACT

Objective

We aimed to investigate substance use and its association with eating attitudes and behaviors among male Palestinian refugees.

Methods

In a cross-sectional study, male Palestinian refugees(N = 566) were recruited to fill out self-administrated questionnaire on eating attitudes and behaviors (EAT-26) and to give urine samples to test current illicit drug use.

Results

The response rate was 47.7%. Substance use was highly prevalent among participants (28.9%). The percentage of participants with eating disorders (ED) among substance users was as follows: Any illicit drug (30.8%), benzodiazepine (32.6%), methamphetamines(40.7%), amphetamine (39.3%), tetrahydrocannabinol (25.8%), barbiturates (20%),and alcohol (12.50%). Obese participants were at higher risk of having ED(OR = 2.344, p < .05) than underweight participants. Binge eaters were more likely to be tetrahydrocannabinol users (OR = 2.745, p < .05). Increased riskof self-induced vomiting behavior was associated with binge behavior (OR = 5.97, p < .05, laxative use (OR = 26.38, p < .01), barbiturates use (OR = 59.36, p < .05), waterpipe smoking (OR = 8.62, p < .05), vape smoking (OR = 10.37, p < .05), and inversely associated with age (OR = 0.832, p < .001).

Conclusion

 Findings from this study demonstrated a substantially increased frequency of substance use among Palestinian refugees with ED and unhealthy weight control behaviors. This study highlighted new challenge for the health system to deal with new emerging health conditions among male refugees.

Title

Journal of Substance Use

Publisher

Taylor and Francis

Publisher Country

United Kingdom

Indexing

Scopus

Impact Factor

0.8

Publication Type

Both (Printed and Online)

Volume

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Year

2023

Pages

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