Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Oct 19, 2022; 12(10): 1268-1286
Published online Oct 19, 2022. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v12.i10.1268
Substance use and substance use disorders in Africa: An epidemiological approach to the review of existing literature
Olakunle James Onaolapo, Anthony Tope Olofinnade, Foluso Olamide Ojo, Olufunto Adeleye, Joshua Falade, Adejoke Yetunde Onaolapo
Olakunle James Onaolapo, Behavioral Neuroscience Unit, Neuropharmacology Subdivision, Department of Pharmacology, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso 210214 Oyo, Nigeria
Anthony Tope Olofinnade, Department of Pharmacology, Therapeutics and Toxicology, Lagos State University, Ikeja 100001, Lagos, Nigeria
Foluso Olamide Ojo, Olufunto Adeleye, Department of Anatomy, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso 210214, Oyo, Nigeria
Joshua Falade, Department of Mental Health, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti 360282, Ekiti, Nigeria
Adejoke Yetunde Onaolapo, Behavioral Neuroscience Unit, Neurobiology Subdivision, Department of Anatomy, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso 210214, Oyo, Nigeria
Author contributions: All authors contributed to the writing of this article.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Adejoke Yetunde Onaolapo, MBBS, MSc, PhD, Reader (Associate Professor), Behavioral Neuroscience Unit, Neurobiology Subdivision, Department of Anatomy, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Old Oyo/Ilorin Road Ogbomoso P.M.B 4000, Ogbomoso 210214, Oyo, Nigeria. adegbayibiy@yahoo.com
Received: March 4, 2022
Peer-review started: March 4, 2022
First decision: April 18, 2022
Revised: May 1, 2022
Accepted: September 7, 2022
Article in press: September 7, 2022
Published online: October 19, 2022
Processing time: 227 Days and 10.1 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Substance use for medicinal and recreational purposes dates back centuries; however, in recent times, substance use is increasingly becoming a global public health crisis. In Africa, there is a consensus that substance use is emerging as a public health crise, but there appears to be a paucity of data on the epidemiology, risk assessment, and contributing factors to substance use and the development of substance use disorders across Africa. Here, we examined the extant literature for information on the prevalence, trends, and influencers of substance use and substance use disorders as it relates to Africa.