Drug and alcohol dependence
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Persons who use illicit drugs are stigmatized in the United States. The conferral of a deviant social status on illicit drug users may serve to discourage use. However, stigmatization may also adversely affect the health of those who use illicit drugs, through exposure to chronic stress such as discrimination and as a barrier to accessing care. ⋯ In adjusted models, discrimination and alienation were both associated with poorer mental health, and only discrimination was associated with poorer physical health. Angry responses to discrimination and stigma were associated with poorer mental health. The association of stigma and discrimination with poor health among drug users suggests the need for debate on the relative risks and benefits of stigma and discrimination in this context.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Apr 2007
Comparison of tobacco, alcohol and illegal drug usage among school students in three Pacific Island societies.
Many Pacific Island countries are in social and epidemiological transition, but there are little population data about drug and alcohol usage among adolescents in this region. ⋯ Overall, levels of adolescent substance use were consistently higher in Tonga and Pohnpei than in Vanuatu. These unique data provide a basis for setting priorities and evaluating action to address the health risks posed by substance use in these Pacific Island societies.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Apr 2007
Relationship between N-acetyl-aspartate in gray and white matter of abstinent methamphetamine abusers and their history of drug abuse: a proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study.
Altered concentrations of the brain metabolites, including N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) and myo-inositol (MI), may indicate neurotoxicity associated with drug abuse. In this study, the authors explored differences in brain metabolites between abstinent methamphetamine (MA) abusers and healthy comparison subjects and the associations between metabolite concentrations and clinical characteristics. ⋯ The current findings suggest that MA-induced metabolic alterations of frontal gray and white matter are dose-dependent, for primarily male subjects. Additionally, these findings potentially suggest that the MA-related abnormalities may, in part, recover with abstinence in gray matter, but not in the white matter regions.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Feb 2007
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyClinical efficacy of gabapentin versus tiagabine for reducing cocaine use among cocaine dependent methadone-treated patients.
GABAergic medications appear to reduce the reinforcing effects of cocaine by attenuating cocaine-induced dopamine release. This study evaluated gabapentin and tiagabine compared to placebo in reducing cocaine taking behavior. ⋯ Gabapentin showed poor treatment retention and ineffectiveness in reducing cocaine use. Tiagabine significantly reduced cocaine taking behavior compared to placebo or gabapentin among methadone-stabilized cocaine abusers.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Jan 2007
The EQ-5D in alcohol dependent patients: relationships among health-related quality of life, psychopathology and social functioning.
The EQ-5D, a short generic health-related quality of life (HRQOL) questionnaire, can derive preference-based index scores (e.g. EQ VAS, British and German EQ-5D indices) for economic evaluation. This study examined if the EQ-5D could be a valid measure describing and valuing HRQOL in alcohol dependent individuals. ⋯ Seventeen out of 30 hypothesized relationships between similar constructs of the EQ-5D and measures used for comparison were confirmed, possibly favoring EQ-5D's validity. However, the EQ-5D showed a moderate ceiling effect. Further confirmatory research is needed to support the EQ-5D suitability for economic evaluation in alcohol dependent populations.