Substance use among resident doctors in Venezuela

This study was aimed to develop a self-administered questionnaire to detect substance use disorders based on the Spanish version of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) and to evaluate the frequency of substance abuse and/or dependence among resident physicians of a large university hospital in Venezuela. The questionnaire showed a high concordance with the clinical diagnoses. Frequency of substance abuse and dependence was evaluated among 191 resident doctors. The frequencies of lifetime diagnoses were: tobacco dependence: 20.9%; alcohol abuse: 11%; alcohol dependence: 0.5%; drug abuse: 1% and drug dependence: 1%; non-pathological use of drugs: 20.4%.