Drug and alcohol dependence
-
Drug Alcohol Depend · Aug 2018
Prescription drug use, misuse and related substance use disorder symptoms vary by educational status and attainment in U.S. adolescents and young adults.
Prescription drug misuse (PDM) rates are highest in adolescents and young adults. Little research in these high-risk groups has examined PDM differences by educational status or attainment. This investigation attempted to further our understanding of adolescent and young adult prescription drug use and misuse through examining PDM type (i.e., nonmedical misuse, medical misuse and mixed misuse) and substance use disorder (SUD) symptoms from PDM by educational status/attainment. ⋯ These results further suggest the importance of assessing educational status in adolescent and educational attainment in young adult PDM investigations. Adolescents poorly engaged in school or not in school appear especially in need of interventions to limit PDM and associated SUD symptoms.
-
Drug Alcohol Depend · Aug 2018
Non-suicidal self-injury in Chinese heroin-dependent patients receiving methadone maintenance treatment: Prevalence and associated factors.
To date, there have been no studies examining non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in Chinese heroin-dependent patients (HDPs) receiving methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). This study determined the prevalence of NSSI and its methods in HDPs under MMT as well as factors significantly associated with NSSI. ⋯ NSSI is common among Chinese HDPs of MMT clinics. Services for HDPs in MMT settings should include periodic screening for NSSI, adequate pain treatment, and appropriate psychosocial treatment for depression, anxiety, and loneliness.
-
Drug Alcohol Depend · Aug 2018
Tapering off and returning to buprenorphine maintenance in a primary care Office Based Addiction Treatment (OBAT) program.
Guidelines recommend long-term treatment for opioid use disorder including the use of buprenorphine; however, many patients desire to eventually taper off. This study examines the prevalence and patient characteristics of patients that voluntarily taper off buprenorphine. ⋯ Despite the fact that many patients desire to discontinue buprenorphine, a minority had a documented taper. Among those who tapered, more than half did so unsupervised by the clinic and a majority of those who tapered off returned to buprenorphine treatment within two years. As many patients are unable to successfully taper off buprenorphine, the medical community must work to address any barriers to long-term maintenance.
-
Drug Alcohol Depend · Jul 2018
Dispositional mindfulness and prescription opioid misuse among chronic pain patients: Craving and attention to positive information as mediating mechanisms.
Opioid-treated chronic pain patients may be at risk for prescription opioid misuse due to heightened opioid craving coupled with deficits in attention to naturally rewarding, positive stimuli. Conversely, dispositional mindfulness, which is associated with reduced craving and increased responsiveness to natural rewards, may serve as a protective factor and buffer opioid misuse risk. The current investigation aimed to examine the association between mindfulness and opioid misuse, and to test opioid craving and attention to positive information as mediators of this relationship. ⋯ Dispositional mindfulness may buffer opioid misuse risk by attenuating opioid craving and enhancing attention to naturally rewarding stimuli.
-
Drug Alcohol Depend · Jul 2018
Naloxone laws facilitate the establishment of overdose education and naloxone distribution programs in the United States.
The opioid overdose crisis in the United States continues to worsen. Opioid overdose mortality is entirely preventable with timely administration of naloxone. Since 2001, many states have passed laws to create an enabling environment for the implementation of overdose education and naloxone distribution (OEND) programs. We assessed whether state-level naloxone laws and their provisions stimulated the implementation of OEND programs in the United States. ⋯ Our findings suggest that naloxone laws facilitated the implementation of OEND programs. With only 8% of counties having an OEND program within them, future studies should investigate strategies to improve the implementation of OEND programs.