Addiction
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Exposure to opioid maintenance treatment reduces long-term mortality.
To (i) examine the predictors of mortality in a randomized study of methadone versus buprenorphine maintenance treatment; (ii) compare the survival experience of the randomized subject groups; and (iii) describe the causes of death. ⋯ Increased exposure to opioid maintenance treatment reduces the risk of death in opioid-dependent people. There was no differential reduction between buprenorphine and methadone. Previous studies suggesting differential effects may have been affected by biases in patient selection.
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Previous studies have shown inconsistent findings with regard to the association between amount of spending money and adolescent smoking. Drinking alcohol may be a mediator of the association between spending money and adolescent smoking. However, no studies have examined this potential role. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between amount of spending money and adolescent smoking and the potential mediation role of alcohol use in this association. ⋯ Amount of spending money was associated significantly and positively with smoking among adolescents, and alcohol use mediated this association. Integrated tobacco prevention programs may be more effective, and increasing taxes on cigarettes and alcohol would increase price sensitivity among youth and protect against adolescent smoking.
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Multicenter Study
Changes in volume of drinking after changes in alcohol taxes and travellers' allowances: results from a panel study.
The aim of this paper is to study short-term changes in alcohol consumption by subgroups of the population in Denmark, Finland and southern Sweden following large-scale decreases in alcohol taxation in Denmark and Finland and large increases in travellers' allowances in Finland and Sweden. ⋯ The results did not confirm expectations: an increase in consumption larger than that in the control site could not be shown in any of the countries or subgroups of the population. If there has been an effect -- as shown in aggregate data in Finland -- it seems to have been stronger among the old than the young and, in Finland and southern Sweden, among women rather than men.
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Gender differences exist regarding alcohol and illicit drug use disorders in the United States. Little is known about the gender-related factors associated with non-medical use of prescription opioids. ⋯ For both women and men, illicit drug use is associated with the non-medical use of prescription opioids. Additionally, certain factors associated with the non-medical use of prescription opioids are notably gender-specific. Clinicians should recognize that patients with a history of illicit substance use or misuse of other prescription medications are at increased risk for non-medical use of prescription opioids, and that gender-specific factors can help to identify individuals at greatest risk.
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To determine the contribution of heroin, prescription opioids, cocaine and alcohol/drug combinations to the total overdose death rate and identify changes in drug overdose patterns among New Mexico subpopulations. ⋯ Interventions to prevent drug overdose death should be targeted according to use patterns among at-risk subpopulations. A comprehensive approach addressing both illicit and prescription drug users, and people who use these drugs concurrently, is needed to reduce overdose death.