European Addiction Research最新文献

{"title":"Psychiatric Comorbidities and Risks of Death, Non-Fatal Overdose, and Self-Harm in Opioid Agonist Therapy: A Retrospective Cohort Study.","authors":"Yangyang Li, Alexander Denissoff, Margareeta Häkkinen, Lauri H Sillanmäki, Solja Niemelä","doi":"10.1159/ear/acrag001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/ear/acrag001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Psychiatric disorders are common among patients with opioid use disorder (OUD). Opioid agonist therapy (OAT) is an effective treatment for OUD, but outcomes for patients with psychiatric comorbidities remain understudied. This study aimed to examine the connections between psychiatric comorbidities and outcomes in individuals undergoing OAT.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We retrospectively collected data from the Wellbeing Services County of Southwest Finland clinical registry. The cohort included 1235 patients receiving OAT from January 1, 2004, to April 15, 2021. Patients attending OAT, psychiatric diagnoses, overdoses, and self-harm were identified from the registry data using ICD-10 codes. In cases of death, the register also included the date of death. We analyzed associations between psychiatric comorbidities and outcomes using Cox regression for death and logistic regression for non-fatal overdose and self-harm.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We identified the prevalence of the following psychiatric comorbidities: non-substance use disorder (non-SUD) psychiatric disorders (39.0%), psychosis (17.0%), mood disorders (29.1%), anxiety disorders (26.2%), personality disorders (20.7%), and other SUDs not related to opioids (other SUDs) (61.4%). After adjusting for all covariates, we found an association between alcohol use disorder (AUD) (hazard ratio = 1.54, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.06-2.22) and a higher risk of death during OAT. Additionally, non-SUD psychiatric disorders (overdose: odds ratio [OR] = 1.64, 1.14-2.36; self-harm: OR = 1.50, 1.03-2.18), psychosis (overdose: OR = 1.89, 1.29-2.79; self-harm: OR = 1.87, 1.26-2.78), and other SUDs (overdose: OR = 2.61, 1.81-3.83; self-harm: OR = 2.56, 1.74-3.82) were associated with higher odds of both overdose and self-harm.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The study emphasizes the need for screening and secondary preventive measures for psychosis and other SUDs (particularly AUD) in OAT settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":11902,"journal":{"name":"European Addiction Research","volume":" ","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149223611","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Widespread Suspected Illegal Advertising of Paid Loot Boxes and Social Casino Games in Belgium: Empowered by the EU Digital Services Act to Assess Compliance Using Meta's Ad Repository.","authors":"Leon Y Xiao, Elena Petrovskaya, Nicole Khoo, Maarten Denoo, Amanda Roberts","doi":"10.1159/ear/acrag008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/ear/acrag008","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Paid loot boxes and social casino mechanics are gambling-like products inside video games that provide random rewards in exchange for real-world money. These products may cause harm to vulnerable consumers, e.g., children and adults experiencing gambling harms. Most countries do not presently regulate these mechanics as gambling because the random rewards do not possess real-world monetary value as defined by law. Uniquely, Belgium's gambling law does not have that requirement. Paid loot boxes and social casinos therefore constitute unlicensed and illegal gambling. Providing these products is a criminal offence. However, this 'ban' has not been enforced due to the regulator lacking resources, so these products remain widely available. We investigated whether, beyond failing to remove these products from the Belgian version of app stores, companies are also paying to advertise games containing them on social media to specifically attract Belgian users, which would constitute an additional crime of advertising illegal gambling. We gained data access through the EU Digital Services Act, which requires very large online platforms (e.g., Instagram and Facebook) to provide repositories for all advertising shown and associated audience demographic data. Concerningly, 172 popular games with illegal paid loot boxes and social casino mechanics were widely advertised in Belgium. We studied 1,574 ads, which were viewed over 4.5 million times by Belgian users, including conceivably 544,000 times by under-21s (estimated based on our hypothetical assumptions), who are not legally permitted to gamble online in Belgium. Policymakers should hold social media platforms and app stores accountable for conducting effective content moderation and ensuring illegal games and ads are not available to local users. More data access opportunities should be mandated by law in the EU and beyond to aid research and policy enforcement.</p>","PeriodicalId":11902,"journal":{"name":"European Addiction Research","volume":" ","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149215420","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Profile of migrant people with non-medically supervised use of pregabalin: a scoping review.","authors":"Gaya Redouté, Elodie Berne, Aurélie Lansiaux, Anthony Plasse, Marie Jauffret-Roustide, Benjamin Rolland","doi":"10.1159/ear/acrag012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/ear/acrag012","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Pregabalin is a gabapentinoid drug used to treat neuropathic pain, epilepsy and anxiety. Over recent years, prescriptions and non-medically supervised use of pregabalin have increased in several European countries, especially within the French-speaking regions. These increases have been reported in young migrants, particularly those from Maghreb. However, the available peer-reviewed literature is poor with respect to the main characteristics of migrant people with non-medically supervised use of pregabalin and their trajectory of use. This scoping review explored both indexed scientific databases and grey literature to better identify the profile of pregabalin users, including their geographical origin, context and motivations of use, sociodemographic and psychiatric features.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A search of relevant articles was conducted in several scientific databases of peer-reviewed journals, complemented by grey literature retrieved from reference lists of peer-reviewed publications and interviews with professionals involved in migrant support and healthcare.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Two main populations of migrants using non-medically supervised pregabalin were identified. The first and main group consists of people coming from Maghreb, primarily from Algeria. They are commonly young socially marginalized men, who use pregabalin to experience euphoria or to cope with psychological trauma. These individuals usually migrate for economic reasons, and they frequently seek to specifically migrate to French-speaking countries for linguistic or family reasons. Pregabalin initiation is generally reported in the country of origin, and continues post-migration, in the context of precarious living situations or enrollment in criminal networks that provide an easier access to the drug, in exchange for engaging in different illicit activities. The second identified population with non-medically supervised use of pregabalin comes from Eastern Europe, and consists of older male individuals, who usually report using pregabalin to enhance or replace opioid drugs. In this second group, migration is motivated by economic or political reasons, and/or for getting access to healthcare services for chronic viral infections, such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus or Hepatitis B or C virus. They do not specifically aim to migrate into a French-speaking country.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The increase in non-medically supervised use of pregabalin observed among migrant people in many Western European countries seems to be mainly related to two distinct migrant populations, i.e., Maghreb, and Eastern European respectively. Between the two categories of migrant people, motivations for pregabalin use, as well as migration trajectories, seem to be different, suggesting that prevention, harm-reduction and treatment strategies should be tailored to each group.</p>","PeriodicalId":11902,"journal":{"name":"European Addiction Research","volume":" ","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149206721","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"THC Exposure, Not Cannabis Quantity, Predicts Quality of Life Outcomes: An 18-Month Longitudinal Study of Regulated Cannabis Access in Switzerland.","authors":"Jacqueline Curiger, Christoph Felix Mosandl, Maximilian Meyer, Adrian Guessoum, Oliver Herrmann, Eva-Maria Pichler, Marc Vogel, Marc Walter, Lavinia Baltes-Flückiger","doi":"10.1159/ear/acrag010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/ear/acrag010","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Despite widespread cannabis use, longitudinal evidence on quality-of-life impacts remains limited, particularly in regulated access contexts with objective purchase tracking.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted an 18-month longitudinal analysis of 300 participants in the [ANONYMIZED] study, a regulated cannabis access study in Switzerland. Quality of life was assessed using the EQ-5D at baseline and 18 months. Cannabis consumption was tracked objectively through pharmacy-based purchases, with additional measures of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content, self-reported problematic cannabis use (CUDIT-R), and self-reported consumption amount. Multiple regression analyses examined predictors of quality-of-life outcomes.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Overall quality of life remained stable from baseline (M=0.92, SD=0.18) to 18-month follow-up (mean change = 0.002, p=0.418). However, specific consumption patterns significantly predicted outcomes. Higher cumulative THC exposure over 18 months (b=-0.003, p=0.048), higher baseline CUDIT-R scores (b=-0.001, p=0.030), and increased self-reported consumption amount (b=-0.016, p=0.004) all independently predicted lower quality of life at follow-up. Notably, total cannabis quantity purchased through regulated channels did not predict outcomes (p=0.134).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>While regulated cannabis access does not lead to overall quality of life deterioration, THC exposure and consumption intensity-rather than absolute cannabis quantity purchased-are key determinants of wellbeing outcomes. These findings have important implications for harm reduction strategies and regulatory frameworks, suggesting that cannabis potency and use patterns matter more than total consumption amounts for long-term quality of life.</p>","PeriodicalId":11902,"journal":{"name":"European Addiction Research","volume":" ","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149206665","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mortality and causes of death among individuals in a national opioid agonist treatment cohort.","authors":"Tanja Schwarz, Judith Anzenberger, Martin Busch, Eva S Schernhammer, Susanne Strohmaier","doi":"10.1159/ear/acrag005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/ear/acrag005","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Background People with opioid use disorder experience markedly elevated all-cause and cause-specific mortality. Opioid agonist treatment (OAT) reduces mortality risk, and OAT populations across Europe are aging, with cardiovascular, respiratory, and liver diseases accounting for a growing proportion of deaths. However, cause-specific mortality beyond overdose remains poorly characterized in large national cohorts. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study including all 26,031 individuals (76% men) recorded in the Austrian national OAT registry between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2019, linked to the national causes of death registry with follow-up through December 31, 2021. We calculated sex-specific age-standardized mortality rates per 100,000 person-years (2013 European Standard Population), standardized rate ratios (SRR), and cause-specific standardized mortality ratios (SMR) compared with the Austrian general population. Results Across 278,959 person-years of follow-up, 2,358 deaths occurred. Cohort members had substantially higher mortality across all causes, with greater excess among women (SRR 7.06, 95% CI 6.45-7.72) than men (3.86; 3.69-4.04). Beyond substance use-related causes (SMR 33.2, 95% CI 31.4-35.2), the highest SMRs were found for viral hepatitis (63.8, 52.3-77.8), HIV (48.6, 39.0-60.6), and valvular heart diseases and endocarditis (28.4, 18.6-43.6). By the early to mid-40s, deaths from non-communicable diseases collectively exceeded those from substance use-related causes. Conclusion Austria's national OAT cohort experiences substantial excess mortality across all major causes, with high relative excess for substance use-related, infectious, and liver-related conditions. As OAT populations age, non-communicable diseases account for an increasing share of deaths. Future analyses linking the cohort to additional data sources will be needed to disentangle the underlying contributions to this excess mortality.</p>","PeriodicalId":11902,"journal":{"name":"European Addiction Research","volume":" ","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149192259","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Investigating outcome types and betting strategies in roulette: A simulation study.","authors":"Matthew King-Parker, Steve Sharman","doi":"10.1159/ear/acrag004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/ear/acrag004","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Roulette has not received as significant attention in research as other forms of gambling. Where roulette has, betting style is often constrained, reducing ecological validity. The present study sought to understand different betting strategies, potential outcome distributions, and implications for research. To build an understanding of the frequency of types of outcomes in roulette, the present research used a virtual roulette game to simulate 22,000 spins on a roulette wheel across 11 different betting strategies. There is the potential for 17 different outcome types for roulette: win, loss, loss disguised as win, and 14 different types of near miss. Across the 11 different strategies the rates of the different outcomes varied from being the minority to the majority outcomes. These data showed that roulette outcomes vary significantly as a function of betting strategy and that certain outcomes may not be encountered. However, the amount earned over the strategies did not differ from their starting value. Experimental research cannot allow participants to gamble organically and simultaneously retain experimental control over outcome distribution. Therefore, for roulette studies, researchers have three potential options: (1) To use pre-determined outcome sequences with restricted betting choices; (2) Use a pseudo-randomised sequence with programmed percentages of outcomes that allows ecologically valid betting but using a larger number of trials; (3) Use a random sequence and control for outcome variance using via statistical analysis. This study demonstrates factors researchers must consider when balancing experimental control and ecological validity in experimental roulette tasks.</p>","PeriodicalId":11902,"journal":{"name":"European Addiction Research","volume":" ","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149192264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Impact of Stress, Education, and Neighbourhood Socioeconomic Status on Smoking Cessation in Persons in Treatment for Substance Use Disorders.","authors":"Maartje van Lakerveld, Marloes Eline Derksen, Matthijs Blankers, Anna E Goudriaan","doi":"10.1159/ear/acrag011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/ear/acrag011","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Smoking prevalence remains high among individuals with substance use disorders (SUD) in treatment, yet limited research has explored the factors influencing smoking cessation in this population. This study examines whether stress, educational attainment, and neighbourhood socioeconomic status (SES) are associated with smoking cessation among adults receiving treatment for non-tobacco SUDs.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data were analysed from a cohort of 1,627 patients in addiction care. Smoking cessation was assessed in relation to self-reported stress levels at treatment entry and neighbourhood SES, determined via postal code data. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the influence of stress, education, and neighbourhood SES on the likelihood of quitting smoking during treatment.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Higher educational attainment, lower self-reported stress, and lower neighbourhood SES were associated with increased odds of smoking cessation. However, the overall explained variance in cessation outcomes was minimal.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>While stress, education, and neighbourhood SES showed statistically significant associations with smoking cessation among individuals in SUD treatment, the clinical relevance appears limited due to the low explanatory power. The observed associations with stress and education align with prior expectations, whereas the inverse relationship with neighbourhood SES warrants further investigation. Additional research is needed to identify other determinants that may more robustly predict or support smoking cessation in this high-risk group.</p>","PeriodicalId":11902,"journal":{"name":"European Addiction Research","volume":" ","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149180249","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"AI-Enabled Prescribing in Opioid Use Disorder Care: Decision Support, Risk Scores, Large Language Model Copilots, and Digital Therapeutics (2024-2025).","authors":"Mike Zack, Valentin Skryabin","doi":"10.1159/ear/acrag006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/ear/acrag006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This narrative, practice-oriented review maps the 2024-2025 landscape of AI-enabled prescribing in opioid use disorder (OUD) care, where the evidence base is most developed, while noting cautious extension to other substance use disorders (SUDs). We link concrete clinical decisions to fit-for-purpose tools across four domains: EHR-embedded prediction and safety nudges; PDMP-derived analytics and risk scores; clinician-facing large language model (LLM) copilots; and prescription digital therapeutics, just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs), and personal sensing systems. The regulatory analysis uses U.S. frameworks as worked examples and translates the same governance questions to European settings through the EU AI Act, MDR/IVDR medical software requirements, GDPR, the European Health Data Space, and the HMA-EMA data and AI workplan. Evidence maturity is uneven. EHR-based clinical decision support for naloxone co-prescribing and protocolized buprenorphine initiation has the most established implementation base. PDMP risk scores are clinically visible but incompletely validated and should remain advisory. Digital therapeutics and JITAI approaches may support engagement and retention, but they should not automate dosing. LLM copilots are most defensible as audited, citation-first conformance checkers rather than autonomous prescribers; patient-facing agents should be restricted to education, skills support, navigation, and escalation. Across settings, the highest-yield systems are transparent, narrowly scoped, workflow-native, and evaluated with prescribing-centered outcomes such as dose optimization, 28/90/180-day retention, naloxone co-prescribing and fills, and overdose-related safety. We propose safeguards that keep AI explainable, equitable, transferable across health systems, and subordinate to clinical judgment.</p>","PeriodicalId":11902,"journal":{"name":"European Addiction Research","volume":" ","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149001410","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The role of genetic explanations of substance use disorders in shaping stigma in the general public.","authors":"Anaïs B Thijssen, Rada Veeneman, Anil P S Ori, Karin Verweij","doi":"10.1159/ear/acrag007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/ear/acrag007","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Substance use disorders (SUDs) are among the most highly stigmatized mental health conditions, with stigma acting as a key barrier to treatment engagement and recovery. SUDs are especially stigmatized as they are more likely to be viewed as voluntary conditions, compared to other mental health illnesses. As genetic research increasingly illuminates the biological underpinnings of addiction, it is important to know whether this understanding reduces or reinforces stigma in the general public.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>We conducted a review to identify studies examining the relationship between genetic explanations of SUDs and stigmatizing attitudes. Across both correlational and experimental studies, genetic attributions consistently reduced personal blame toward individuals with SUDs. This finding is consistent with attribution theory, which states that individuals will be blamed less if their condition is viewed as outside of their control. Effects on other dimensions of stigma, including perceptions of dangerousness, fear, and desire for social distance, were inconsistent across studies. Studies were limited by the use of deterministic, binary genetic framings that do not accurately reflect the complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors underlying addiction risk.</p><p><strong>Key messages: </strong>Genetic attributions consistently reduced personal blame toward individuals with SUDs, while associations with other stigma-related attitudes wereless clear. Within the disease-model framework, reduced blame is interpreted as a reduction in stigma-related attitudes, although frameworks emphasizing individual agency may interpret this finding differently. Future research should adopt scientifically accurate gene-environment frameworks and re-evaluate the effect on stigma, attend to the needs of individuals with lived experience of addiction, and examine how changes in interpersonal stigma interact with structural stigma. Careful communication of genetic findings is essential to avoid reinforcing essentialist views of addiction.</p>","PeriodicalId":11902,"journal":{"name":"European Addiction Research","volume":" ","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149001452","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comorbidity in Internet Gaming Disorder: An Embedding-Based Topic Modeling Analysis.","authors":"Misong Woo, Gangta Choi, Hyunchan Hwang, Doug Hyun Han","doi":"10.1159/ear/acrag003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/ear/acrag003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Background Internet Gaming Disorder frequently co-occurs with psychiatric conditions, yet many studies overlook these comorbidities, leading to oversimplified interpretations Objectives This study systematically examined thematic and interpretative differences in IGD research according to whether psychiatric comorbidities were explicitly incorporated. Method We analyzed 1,201 IGD-related articles, classified into With Comorbidity (WC; n = 21) and Without Comorbidity (WoC; n = 1,180) groups. After text preprocessing, BERTopic modeling was performed to identify and compare thematic structures. For the WoC group, topics were further classified as \"psychiatric-related\" if they contained at least two predefined psychiatric disorder keywords. For the WC group, the influence of comorbidity on outcome interpretation was evaluated. We implemented an AI-assisted Natural Language Processing pipeline to compare thematic structure across groups. Results Topic modeling identified 26 topics in WoC and 5 in WC. WoC topics covered diverse themes, whilst WC topics highlighted clinical interactions involving comorbidities such as ADHD, anxiety, and depression. In the WC group, 81% of studies showed that comorbidity significantly influenced outcome interpretations. To statistically compare the distribution of two groups, we performed centroid alignment with a correction factor based on the word-count ratio. Maximum mean discrepancy (MMD) analysis confirmed a significant difference in semantic distribution after correction (MMD distance=1.24*10^-4, p=0.02).Conclusions Explicit consideration of psychiatric comorbidities enhances the clinical and interpretative accuracy of IGD research. Future studies should systematically integrate comorbidity analyses to improve understanding and therapeutic management of IGD. The AI-assisted NLP synthesis offers a scalable evidence-mapping approach to identify clinically relevant gaps and biases in the IGD literature, particularly regarding psychiatric comorbidity.</p>","PeriodicalId":11902,"journal":{"name":"European Addiction Research","volume":" ","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148863913","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}