Addiction
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To investigate the relationship between time after hospital discharge and drug-related death (DRD) and suicide among drug users in Scotland, while controlling for potential confounders. ⋯ In people receiving treatment for drug dependence, discharge from a period of hospitalization marks the start of a period of heightened vulnerability to drug-related death.
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This study describes the use of prescribed drugs among women in opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) prior to, and during, pregnancy. ⋯ A higher proportion of women in opioid maintenance treatment in Norway use prescription drugs prior to, and during, pregnancy than pregnant women in the general population. Co-medication with drugs with abuse potential may increase the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes and this need to be further addressed.
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Debate continues about whether the association between cannabis use in adolescence and common mental disorders is causal. Most reports have focused on associations in adolescence, with few studies extending into adulthood. We examine the association from adolescence until the age of 29 years in a representative prospective cohort of young Australians. ⋯ Regular (particularly daily) adolescent cannabis use is associated consistently with anxiety, but not depressive disorder, in adolescence and late young adulthood, even among regular users who then cease using the drug. It is possible that early cannabis exposure causes enduring mental health risks in the general cannabis-using adolescent population.
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Multicenter Study
Association of alcohol dehydrogenase polymorphisms and life-style factors with excessive alcohol intake within the Spanish population (EPIC-Spain).
To analyse associations between alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) polymorphisms and alcohol intake in Spanish men and women. ⋯ In the Spanish population, the single nucleotide polymorphism of alcohol dehydrogenase ADH1B, rs1229984, is associated inversely with alcohol intake in both men and women. Another polymorphism of ADH6, rs3857224, is associated with heavy alcohol intake in women.
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Although smoking prevalence among people with severe mental illness is high, it remains largely unaddressed. This pragmatic pilot project aimed to develop and implement a tailored tobacco dependence service in mental health settings and to assess its impact, as well as barriers and facilitators to implementation. ⋯ Despite the strong anti-smoking climate in the United Kingdom, including a law requiring smoke-free policies in mental health settings, establishing a smoking cessation treatment service for people with mental illness proved difficult, due to complex systemic barriers. However, there is clearly a demand, by patients, for such a service.