Drug and alcohol dependence
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Oct 2016
Polygenic risk scores for cigarettes smoked per day do not generalize to a Native American population.
Recent studies have demonstrated the utility of polygenic risk scores (PRSs) for exploring the genetic etiology of psychiatric phenotypes and the genetic correlations between them. To date, these studies have been conducted almost exclusively using participants of European ancestry, and thus, there is a need for similar studies conducted in other ancestral populations. However, given that the predictive ability of PRSs are sensitive to differences in linkage disequilibrium (LD) patterns and minor allele frequencies across discovery and target samples, the applicability of PRSs developed in European ancestry samples to other ancestral populations has yet to be determined. Therefore, the current study derived PRSs for cigarettes per day (CPD) from predominantly European-ancestry samples and examined their ability to predict nicotine dependence (ND) in a Native American (NA) population sample. ⋯ These findings illustrate how differences in patterns of LD across discovery and target samples can reduce the predictive ability of PRSs for complex traits.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Oct 2016
Randomized Controlled TrialSex-dependent effects of cannabis-induced analgesia.
Preclinical studies demonstrate that cannabinoid-mediated antinociceptive effects vary according to sex; it is unknown if these findings extend to humans. ⋯ These results indicate that in cannabis smokers, men exhibit greater cannabis-induced analgesia relative to women. These sex-dependent differences are independent of cannabis-elicited subjective effects associated with abuse-liability, which were consistent between men and women. As such, sex-dependent differences in cannabis's analgesic effects are an important consideration that warrants further investigation when considering the potential therapeutic effects of cannabinoids for pain relief.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Oct 2016
Understanding opioid overdose characteristics involving prescription and illicit opioids: A mixed methods analysis.
Opioid abuse and misuse are significant public health issues. The CDC estimated 72% of pharmaceutical-related overdose deaths in the US in 2012 involved opioids. While studies of opioid overdoses have identified sociodemographic characteristics, agents used, administration routes, and medication sources associated with overdoses, we know less about the context and life circumstances of the people who experience these events. ⋯ To identify people at greater risk of opioid overdose, efforts should focus on screening for prescribed and illicit polysubstance use, impaired cognition, and changes in life circumstances, psychosocial risks/supports, and pain control.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Sep 2016
Same-day use of opioids and other central nervous system depressants amongst people who tamper with pharmaceutical opioids: A retrospective 7-day diary study.
The aims were to determine: (i) quantity and frequency of same-day use of opioids with benzodiazepines and/or alcohol amongst people who regularly tamper with pharmaceutical opioids; and (ii) socio-demographic, mental health, harms and treatment profile associated with same-day use of high doses. ⋯ Same-day use of opioids with benzodiazepines/alcohol, and high dose combinations, are common amongst people who tamper with pharmaceutical opioids. Assessment of concomitant benzodiazepine/alcohol use during opioid therapy, implementation of real-time prescription monitoring systems, and research to clarify upper safe limits for polydrug depressant use, are potential implications.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Sep 2016
Chronic pain, craving, and illicit opioid use among patients receiving opioid agonist therapy.
In a sample of patients receiving opioid agonist therapy, we evaluated whether having chronic pain was associated with (a) craving for opioids and (b) illicit opioid use. ⋯ In this sample of patients treated with opioid agonist therapy, those with chronic pain had higher odds of reporting craving for opioids. Chronic pain with associated opioid craving potentially places this population at risk for relapse.