Research paper
The epidemiology of GHB and ketamine use in an Australian household survey

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2007.08.007Get rights and content

Abstract

Background

There have been apparent increases in recent years in the illicit use of ketamine and gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), but to date there has been no examination of the epidemiology of use in the general population. This paper provides the first such Australian data on the patterns and correlates of GHB and ketamine use.

Method

Data were analysed from the 2004 National Drug Strategy Household Survey, a multistage probability sample of Australians aged 14 years or older. Associations between GHB and ketamine use, and core demographic and other drug use variables, were examined.

Results

0.5% of Australians aged 14 years or older reported ever using GHB, and 0.1% reported recent use, with the prevalence of use being highest amongst those aged 20–29 years. Lifetime use of ketamine was reported by 1% of Australians aged 14 years or older, with 0.3% reporting recent use. Again, prevalence of ketamine use was highest amongst those aged 20–29 years. Those who reported ever using these drugs described a pattern of occasional use, with the large majority not using these drugs in the past year. Multiple regression analyses suggested that compared to non-users, GHB and ketamine users were more likely to report the recent use of a wide range of other drugs.

Conclusions

The prevalence of GHB and ketamine use in Australia appears to be quite low. The present study found high rates of polydrug use, as have been documented in convenience samples of GHB and ketamine users in previous work. As for other illegal drugs used by small proportions of the population, detailed data on patterns of use and associated risks of use are probably best derived from targeted samples of users; household survey data allow comparisons of the relative prevalence of use compared to other illicit drugs and future work will provide the opportunity to consider changes in the extent of use in the general population.

Section snippets

Survey

The 2004 National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS) was managed by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) on behalf of the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, and conducted by Roy Morgan Research. This is the eighth national survey, conducted on an approximately triennial basis since 1985, which collected data on people's awareness, attitudes and behaviours relating to licit and illicit drug use (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2002). The 2004 NDSHS

Results

Less than 1% (0.5%) of Australians aged 14 years and over had ever used GHB, and 0.1% of Australians aged 14 and over had used GHB in the past year (Table 1). Lifetime GHB use was highest amongst 20–29 year olds; recent (past year) use appeared slightly higher amongst younger age groups, although the small size of the estimates meant that the 95% confidence intervals overlapped. The use of ketamine was also low, but slightly more common than GHB use: 1% had ever used, versus 0.5% for GHB. Both

Discussion

The present study provided the first population-based prevalence estimates of the use of GHB and ketamine in a nationally representative sample of Australians, and presented data on demographic and other drug use correlates. The results suggest low rates of use of GHB and ketamine in the general population, with little heavy use amongst users.

GHB and ketamine users were young adults, more likely to be male, with extensive polydrug use histories, consistent with research from targeted samples of

Acknowledgements

The National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. Thanks to Stuart Gilmour, formerly of NDARC, and to Mark Cooper-Stanbury, of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, for their work on weighting macros for the National Drug Strategy Household Survey data.

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