Covariates in studies examining longitudinal relationships between substance use and mental health problems among youth: A meta-epidemiologic review

IF 3.9 2区医学 Q1 PSYCHIATRY

Drug and alcohol dependence Pub Date : 2025-04-05 DOI:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2025.112665

Jillian Halladay , Steph Kershaw , Emma K. Devine , Lucinda Grummitt , Rachel Visontay , Samantha J. Lynch , Chris Ji , Lauren Scott , Marlee Bower , Louise Mewton , Matthew Sunderland , Tim Slade

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Introduction

This meta-epidemiological review examines covariate selection and reporting practices in observational studies analyzing longitudinal relationships between youth substance use and mental health problems (internalizing and externalizing).

Methods

Sixty-nine studies published in high-impact journals from 2018 to 2023 were included. Studies were included if they explored prospective relationships between substance use and mental health among youth (12–25 years) and used repeated measures designs. Data extraction focused on study characteristics, covariates and their selection methods, and reporting practices.

Results

There were 574 covariates included across studies; 33 were included as moderators and 18 were included as mediators. At the study level, the most common covariate domains included demographics (90 % of included studies had at least one demographic, mostly sex), substance-related variables (67 %; mostly alcohol or smoking), internalizing symptoms (39 %; mostly depression), family-related variables (29 %; mostly parental substance use or mental illness), and externalizing symptoms (19 %; mostly conduct). 93 % of studies had unique sets of lower-order covariates. Across all studies (n = 69), only 35 % provided details for how, and why, all covariates were selected with only 12 % reporting selecting covariates a priori, and none being pre-registered. Only 60 % mentioned confounding and only 13 % mentioned risk of confounding in their conclusions.

Conclusions

The findings highlight the need for improved covariate selection and reporting practices. Establishing a core set of covariates and adhering to standardized reporting guidelines would enhance the comparability and reliability of research findings in this field. Researchers can use this review to identify and justify the inclusion and exclusion of commonly reported covariates when analyzing relationships between youth substance use and mental health problems.

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青少年药物使用与精神健康问题之间纵向关系研究中的协变量：一项元流行病学回顾

本荟萃流行病学综述检查了分析青少年物质使用与心理健康问题（内化和外化）之间纵向关系的观察性研究中的协变量选择和报告实践。方法纳入2018 - 2023年在高影响力期刊上发表的69篇研究。如果研究探讨了青少年（12-25岁）药物使用与心理健康之间的潜在关系，并采用重复测量设计，则纳入研究。数据提取侧重于研究特征、协变量及其选择方法和报告实践。结果共纳入574个协变量；33名被纳入为调节人，18名被纳入为调解人。在研究水平上，最常见的协变量域包括人口统计学（90%的纳入研究至少有一种人口统计学，主要是性别）、物质相关变量(67%；主要是酒精或吸烟)，内化症状(39%；主要是抑郁症)，家庭相关变量(29%；主要是父母物质使用或精神疾病)和外化症状(19%；主要是进行)。93%的研究有独特的低阶协变量集。在所有研究（n = 69）中，只有35%的研究提供了如何以及为什么选择所有协变量的详细信息，只有12%的研究报告选择了先验的协变量，没有一个是预先注册的。只有60%的人在结论中提到了混淆，只有13%的人提到了混淆的风险。结论：研究结果强调了改进协变量选择和报告实践的必要性。建立一套核心协变量，并遵循标准化的报告准则，将增强该领域研究成果的可比性和可靠性。在分析青少年药物使用与心理健康问题之间的关系时，研究人员可以使用这篇综述来确定和证明纳入和排除常见的协变量是正确的。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Drug and alcohol dependence 医学-精神病学

CiteScore

7.40

自引率

7.10%

发文量

409

审稿时长

41 days

期刊介绍： Drug and Alcohol Dependence is an international journal devoted to publishing original research, scholarly reviews, commentaries, and policy analyses in the area of drug, alcohol and tobacco use and dependence. Articles range from studies of the chemistry of substances of abuse, their actions at molecular and cellular sites, in vitro and in vivo investigations of their biochemical, pharmacological and behavioural actions, laboratory-based and clinical research in humans, substance abuse treatment and prevention research, and studies employing methods from epidemiology, sociology, and economics.