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Table 1 General sociodemographic characteristics of tribal respondents and age of initiation and duration of opium use
| Background characteristics | Male N (%) | Female N (%) | Total N (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total number of respondents | 1795 (52.5) | 1626 (47.5) | 3421 (100.0) |
| Mean age of respondents (years) ± SD | 34.3 ± 16.7 | 33.3 ± 15.3 | 33.8 ± 16.1 |
| Education | |||
| Illiterate | 710 (39.6) | 1135 (69.8) | 1845 (53.9) |
| Primary | 371 (20.7) | 145 (8.9) | 516 (15.1) |
| Middle | 586 (32.6) | 313 (19.3) | 899 (26.3) |
| Secondary or above | 128 (7.1) | 33 (2.0) | 161 (4.7) |
| Occupation | |||
| Unemployed | 476 (26.5) | 1214 (74.7) | 1690 (49.4) |
| Self employed | 1149 (64.0) | 382 (23.5) | 1531 (44.8) |
| Employed | 170 (9.5) | 30 (1.8) | 200 (5.8) |
| Marital status | |||
| Unmarried | 762 (42.5) | 489 (30.1) | 1251 (36.6) |
| Married | 966 (53.8) | 974 (59.9) | 1940 (56.7) |
| Widower/Widow | 67 (3.7) | 163 (10.0) | 230 (6.7) |
| Religion | |||
| Buddhist | 438 (24.4) | 393 (24.2) | 831 (24.3) |
| Christian | 386 (21.5) | 356 (21.9) | 742 (21.7) |
| Hindu | 746 (41.6) | 691 (42.5) | 1437 (42.0) |
| Indigenous | 225 (12.5) | 186 (11.4) | 411 (12.0) |
| Ethnic group | |||
| Khamti | 74 (4.1) | 58 (3.5) | 132 (3.9) |
| Singhpho | 214 (11.9) | 190 (11.7) | 404 (11.8) |
| Tangsa | 1402 (78.1) | 1313 (80.8) | 2715 (79.4) |
| Tutsa | 105 (5.8) | 65 (4.0) | 170 (4.9) |
| Opium user | 191 (10.6) | 34 (2.1) | 225 (6.6) |
| Other substance use | Among opium user | ||
| Tobacco (in any form) | 150 (78.5) | 21 (61.8) | 171 (76.0) |
| Alcohol | 93 (48.7) | 6 (17.6) | 99 (44.0) |
| Mean ± SD (in Years) | |||
| Age at initiation of opium use | 23.2 ± 9.3 | 27.0 ± 9.9 | 23.7 ± 9.3 |
| Duration of taking opium | 3.5 ± 0.9 | 3.4 ± 0.9 | 3.4 ± 0.9 |
