Paediatrician in Private Practice, Hong Kong, China
AWC Fung (馮偉正) FHKAM(Paed), FHKCPaed, MSocSc(Counselling)
Department of Occupational Therapy, Kwai Chung Hospital, 1 Kwai Chung Hospital Road, Kwai Chung, N. T., Hong Kong, China
MYC Poon (潘恩賜) PDOT, MPhil
Department of Occupational Therapy, Princess Margaret Hospital, 2-10 Princess Margaret Hospital Road, Kwai Chung, N.T., Hong Kong, China
SL Fong (方少麗) OTR(HK, USA), PDOT, MPhil
Department of Paediatrics, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, 30 Gascoigne Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
WY Tse (謝詠儀) FHKAM(Paed), FHKCPaed, FRCPCH
Correspondence to: Dr MYC Poon
Received August 16, 2010
Sixty-three substance users aged between 12 and 25 were recruited into a community health evaluation programme. Use of ketamine, ecstasy and cocaine was prevalent. Neuropsychiatric symptoms were common. With the Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test, 79% of the clients were assessed to have impaired memory. Memory impairment was more pronounced among those using more types of drugs at high frequency, and having started drug use before the age of 15. The Bruininks-Oseretsky Test identified 72.4% of the clients with impairment in at least one of the three aspects defining motor proficiency - manual dexterity, fine-motor precision and fine-motor integration. Motor impairment could follow a period of substance use of less than one year. These findings revealed the high prevalence of memory and motor impairments among young substance users and the pressing need for prompt identification and intervention.
