Table 2. Methamphetamine use characteristics and severity of methamphetamine dependence and withdrawal compared between Thai male and female users by chi-square test.
| Variables | Total (N=782) |
Male (N=413) |
Female (N=369) |
χ2 | df | P-Value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||||||
| n | % | n | % | n | % | ||||
|
| |||||||||
| Age at first MA use onset (years) | |||||||||
| ≤15 | 213 | 27.2 | 120 | 29.1 | 93 | 25.2 | 27.8 | 2 | <0.001** |
| 16-18 | 298 | 38.1 | 184 | 44.6 | 114 | 30.9 | |||
| >18 | 271 | 34.7 | 109 | 26.4 | 162 | 43.9 | |||
|
| |||||||||
| Age at MA dependence onset (years) (n=538) | |||||||||
| < 20 | 261 | 48.5 | 139 | 56.5 | 122 | 41.8 | 11.6 | 1 | 0.001** |
| ≥ 20 | 277 | 51.5 | 107 | 43.5 | 170 | 58.2 | |||
|
| |||||||||
| Duration of MA use (years) (n=781) | |||||||||
| ≤ 5 | 324 | 41.5 | 175 | 42.4 | 149 | 40.5 | 3.9 | 2 | 0.14 |
| 6-10 | 225 | 28.8 | 107 | 25.9 | 118 | 32.1 | |||
| >10 | 232 | 29.7 | 131 | 31.7 | 101 | 27.4 | |||
|
| |||||||||
| Daily number of MA pills during the heaviest period of MA use | |||||||||
| 1-4 | 485 | 62.0 | 280 | 67.8 | 205 | 55.6 | 12.4 | 1 | <0.001** |
| ≥-5 | 297 | 38.0 | 133 | 33.2 | 164 | 44.4 | |||
|
| |||||||||
| Days per month of using MA during the heaviest period of MA use | |||||||||
| ≤ 15 | 280 | 35.8 | 163 | 39.5 | 117 | 31.7 | 5.1 | 1 | 0.02* |
| > 15 | 502 | 64.2 | 250 | 60.5 | 252 | 68.3 | |||
|
| |||||||||
| Number of episodes of MA use in lifetime (n=776) | |||||||||
| ≤ 1000 | 324 | 41.8 | 204 | 50.0 | 120 | 32.6 | 24.1 | 1 | <0.001** |
| > 1000 | 452 | 58.2 | 204 | 50.0 | 248 | 67.4 | |||
|
| |||||||||
| MA dependence | 537 | 68.7 | 246 | 59.6 | 291 | 78.9 | 33.7 | 1 | <0.001** |
|
| |||||||||
| Severity of MA dependence as measured by DSM-IV symptom count (n=536) | |||||||||
| Non-severe (3-5) | 224 | 41.8 | 115 | 46.9 | 109 | 37.5 | 4.9 | 1 | 0.03* |
| Severe (6-7) | 312 | 58.2 | 130 | 53.1 | 182 | 62.5 | |||
|
| |||||||||
| Severity of MA withdrawal: number of withdrawal symptoms (n=642) | |||||||||
| Mild (1-3) | 191 | 29.8 | 101 | 31.1 | 90 | 28.5 | 0.5 | 2 | 0.78 |
| Moderate (4-6) | 370 | 57.6 | 184 | 56.4 | 186 | 58.9 | |||
| Severe (7-9) | 81 | 12.6 | 41 | 12.6 | 40 | 12.7 | |||
|
| |||||||||
| Route of MA use | |||||||||
| Smoking | 726 | 92.8 | 381 | 92.3 | 345 | 93.5 | 0.454 | 1 | 0.501 |
| Orally | 132 | 16.9 | 75 | 18.2 | 57 | 15.4 | 1.022 | 1 | 0.312 |
| Snort | 41 | 5.2 | 27 | 6.5 | 14 | 3.8 | 2.952 | 1 | 0.086 |
| Injection | 10 | 1.28 | 5 | 1.2 | 5 | 1.4 | - | - | 1.000a |
a
=Fisher's Exact Test
*
p < 0.05, chi-square test, two-tail
**
p < 0.01, chi-square test, two-tail