European Addiction Research最新文献

{"title":"What Do Young Adults Expect from the Recreational Use of Ecstasy (3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine/Molly)? A Latent Class Analysis of a Convenience Sample of Dutch Young Adults.","authors":"Martha Charlotta de Jonge,&nbsp;Andrea Johanna Bukman,&nbsp;Tom Ter Bogt,&nbsp;Simone Arianne Onrust,&nbsp;Marloes Kleinjan","doi":"10.1159/000530330","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000530330","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>This study offers insights into Dutch young people's expected social and personal consequences of ecstasy use. Substance use expectancies are assumed to be an essential component in explaining substance use behaviour and, therefore, the development of effective substance use prevention and treatment strategies.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Dutch young adults with an online interest in drug-related social media posts were targeted with an online survey about their use of alcohol and drugs. This resulted in a convenience sample (N = 4182, 73.4% female, Mage = 21.11), of which 35.5% had used ecstasy at least once in their life and 29.3% had used ecstasy last year. Latent class analyses were used to identify subgroups based on both positive and negative expectancies of ecstasy use. Cross-class differences were examined using multinomial logistic regression.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>This study yielded four distinct classes: only negative expectancies (13.6%), high positive and negative expectancies (23.5%), low to moderate positive and negative expectancies (20.6%), and mostly positive expectancies (22.4%). These classes differed significantly in lifetime experience with ecstasy use, intention to use ecstasy, perception of harmfulness and availability, and social norms regarding the use of ecstasy.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Findings show that ecstasy use expectancies can be used to create meaningful classes of users and non-users, and that these classes are different enough to warrant varied prevention approaches. Expectancies young people have regarding the use of ecstasy are associated with various ecstasy use-related variables and should be taken into consideration when developing and implementing preventive interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":11902,"journal":{"name":"European Addiction Research","volume":"29 3","pages":"231-240"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10245266","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":"Seasonality and Delirium Tremens in Hospitalized Patients with Alcohol Dependence Syndrome.","authors":"Ildikó Katalin Pribék,&nbsp;Bettina Kata Kádár,&nbsp;Lea Péter,&nbsp;Júlia Daróczy,&nbsp;András Bajsz,&nbsp;Csenge Sára Kovács,&nbsp;Ildikó Demeter,&nbsp;Zoltán Janka,&nbsp;Róbert Urbán,&nbsp;Zsolt Demetrovics,&nbsp;Bence András Lázár,&nbsp;Ildikó Kovács,&nbsp;János Kálmán,&nbsp;Bálint Andó","doi":"10.1159/000527973","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000527973","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Due to the high rate of mortality, recognizing the contributing factors of alcohol-related delirium tremens (DT), which is the most severe form of alcohol withdrawal state (AWS) is pivotal in clinical settings. Previous studies suggested relationship between seasonality and other types of delirium; however, to our knowledge, this is the first empirical study which examined the role of seasonality in DT in alcohol dependence syndrome (ADS).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A retrospective study was undertaken between 2008 and 2015; medical records of 1,591 patients were included, which yielded 2,900 hospital appearances. Three groups were formed based on the ICD-10 diagnoses: ADS, AWS, and DT. The characteristics of the groups were analysed with one-way ANOVA and χ2 tests. Multinomial logistic regression was used to explore the potential predictors of DT, including seasonality.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The highest incidence of DT was in spring (36.8%; χ2 (3) = 27.666; p < 0.001), especially in March (13.9%; χ2 (11) = 33.168; p < 0.001). Spring, higher mean age, higher presence of comorbid somatic disorders, and lower occurrence of comorbid psychiatric disorders were significant predictive variables for DT with the control of socio-demographic and clinical variables.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The present study revealed that spring, especially March is a critical period in temperate climate zone regarding DT. This can be interpreted as a late winter effect since the temperature is lower in this month compared to other spring months. Furthermore, higher age and the occurrence of comorbid somatic disorders can be considered as risk factors in case of DT. These results support the need of further clinical studies to better understand the impact of seasonality on DT.</p>","PeriodicalId":11902,"journal":{"name":"European Addiction Research","volume":"29 2","pages":"83-91"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10273902/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9651225","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdowns on Alcohol Consumption and Tobacco Smoking Behaviour in South Africa: A National Survey.","authors":"Witness Mapanga, Ashleigh Craig, Asanda Mtintsilana, Siphiwe N Dlamini, Justin Du Toit, Lisa J Ware, Shane A Norris","doi":"10.1159/000528484","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000528484","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>During the first phase of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic lockdowns in South Africa (SA), both alcohol and tobacco were considered non-essential goods and their sales were initially prohibited and further restricted to certain days and timeframes. This study investigates self-reported changes in alcohol consumption and tobacco smoking behaviour in the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns in SA.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional national survey was conducted in October 2021 (before the Omicron wave 4 and while SA was in low-level lockdown) among 3,402 nationally representative respondents (weighted to 39,640,674) aged 18 years and older. Alcohol consumption and tobacco use were assessed from the beginning of the lockdown towards the end of March 2020 until October 2021 using the WHO-AUDIT and the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) Global Adult Tobacco Survey questionnaires, respectively.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among those that drank alcohol (33.2%), 31.4% were classified as having a drinking problem that could be hazardous or harmful and 18.9% had severe alcohol use disorder during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Twenty-two per cent (22.0%) of those that reported alcohol consumption reported that the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns changed their alcohol consumption habits, with 38.1% reporting a decreased intake or quitting altogether. Among the one in five respondents (19.2%) who had ever smoked, most reported smoking at the time of the survey (82.6%) with many classified as light smokers (87.8%; ≤10 cigarettes/day). Almost a third (27.2%) of those smoking reported that the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns had changed their use of tobacco products or vaping, with 60.0% reporting a reduction/quitting tobacco use. Given that sales were restricted this indicates that people could still get hold of tobacco products. Heavy smoking was associated with older age (p = 0.02), those classified as wealthy (p &lt; 0.001), those who started or increased tobacco smoking during the pandemic lockdowns (p = 0.01) and residential provinces (p = 0.04).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Given restrictions on the sale of alcohol and tobacco in SA between 27 March and August 17, 2020, during the pandemic, respondents reported an overall decline in alcohol consumption and tobacco use which might suggest that the regulatory restrictive strategies on sales had some effect but may be inadequate, especially during times where individuals are likely to experience high-stress levels. These changes in alcohol consumption and tobacco use were different from what was reported in several European countries, possibly due to differences in the restrictions imposed in SA when compared to these European countries.</p>","PeriodicalId":11902,"journal":{"name":"European Addiction Research","volume":"29 2","pages":"127-140"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10627113/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9623879","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Affordability of Alcoholic Beverages in the European Union.","authors":"Carolin Kilian,&nbsp;Jakob Manthey,&nbsp;Maria Neufeld,&nbsp;Jürgen Rehm","doi":"10.1159/000527096","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000527096","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>From a public health perspective, alcohol taxation should be designed to reduce alcohol affordability and thus alcohol consumption and related harms.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>In this brief report, we estimate alcohol affordability in European Union Member States and associated countries and investigate whether affordability is related to national alcohol excise duties.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Beverage-specific affordability for beer, wine, and spirits were estimated based on the number of standard drinks a household could purchase based on their median monthly disposable household income in 2020. To determine the pooled affordability of alcohol, the beverage-specific estimates were weighted by the share of the beverage-specific per capita consumption in total recorded consumption. Pearson and Spearman rank correlations were calculated to establish the association between alcohol affordability and alcohol excise duty rates. All data were retrieved from official sources.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>On average, a European household can purchase 1,628 standard drinks of alcohol with its monthly income, with affordability being highest in Germany, Austria, France, and Luxembourg. The affordability of spirits, but not that of beer or wine, was inversely correlated with the beverage-specific excise duty rates.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Alcohol is affordable in the Member States of the European Union and associated countries, and low levels of excise duties on beer and wine appear to be unrelated to their affordability. Alcohol taxes should be increased to effectively reduce the affordability of alcoholic beverages in order to lower the alcohol-related health burden in Europe.</p>","PeriodicalId":11902,"journal":{"name":"European Addiction Research","volume":"29 1","pages":"63-66"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10650741","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":"Neurochemical Correlates of Cue Reactivity in Individuals with Excessive Smartphone Use.","authors":"Gudrun M Henemann,&nbsp;Mike M Schmitgen,&nbsp;Nadine D Wolf,&nbsp;Dusan Hirjak,&nbsp;Katharina M Kubera,&nbsp;Fabio Sambataro,&nbsp;Tagrid Lemenager,&nbsp;Julian Koenig,&nbsp;Robert Christian Wolf","doi":"10.1159/000527095","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000527095","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Excessive smartphone use (ESU), that is, a pattern of smartphone use that shows specific features of addictive behavior, has increasingly attracted societal and scientific interest in the past years. On the neurobiological level, ESU has recently been related to structural and functional variation in reward and salience processing networks, as shown by, for example, aberrant patterns of neural activity elicited by specific smartphone cues.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Expanding on these findings, using cross-modal correlations of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based measures with nuclear imaging-derived estimates, we aimed at identifying neurochemical pathways that are related to ESU.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Cross-modal correlations between functional MRI data derived from a cue-reactivity task administered in persons with and without ESU and specific PET/SPECT receptor probability maps.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The endogenous mu-opioid receptor (MOR) system was found to be significantly (FDR-corrected) correlated with fMRI data, and z-transformed correlation coefficients showed an association (albeit nonsignificant after FDR-correction) between MOR and the Smartphone Addiction Inventory \"withdrawal\" dimension.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>We could identify the MOR system as a neurochemical pathway associated with ESU. The MOR system is closely linked to the reward system, which has been recognized as a key player in addictive disorders. Together with its potential link to withdrawal, the MOR system hints toward a biologically highly relevant marker, which should be taken into consideration in the ongoing scientific discussion on technology-related addictive behaviors.</p>","PeriodicalId":11902,"journal":{"name":"European Addiction Research","volume":"29 1","pages":"71-75"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10651251","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":"Systematic Client Feedback in Youth Mental Health and Addiction Care: A Controlled Study Comparing Two Treatment Cohorts.","authors":"Patty van Benthem, Renske Spijkerman, Peter Blanken, Albert Boon, Robert Vermeiren, Vincent Hendriks","doi":"10.1159/000528355","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000528355","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>We investigated the value of systematic client feedback in youth mental health and addiction care. In the present study, we examined whether a client feedback intervention would result in improved therapeutic alliance and treatment outcomes.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Two hundred and four adolescents participated in the study using a - non-randomized - between-group A/B design. In the first study group, 127 patients were offered 4 months of treatment as usual (TAU), and in the second study group, 77 patients received the client feedback intervention as an add-on to TAU during 4 months.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Youths who received systematic client feedback in addition to TAU did not show better treatment outcomes or better alliance ratings after 4 months than youths receiving TAU only. Sensitivity analyses, in which we compared the more adherent patients of the second study group with patients receiving TAU, did not show significant beneficial effects of client feedback either. Also, the client feedback intervention did not result in lower rates of early treatment drop-out.</p><p><strong>Discussion/conclusion: </strong>Our results cautiously suggest that client feedback does not have incremental effects on alliance and the treatment outcome for youth in mental health and addiction treatment. Moreover, our study highlights the challenges of implementing client feedback in clinical practice and the need for additional research addressing these challenges.</p>","PeriodicalId":11902,"journal":{"name":"European Addiction Research","volume":"29 1","pages":"52-62"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9932826/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9290896","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Frequency of and Factors Associated with the Presence of a History of Probable Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in a Population of Patients with Sex Addiction.","authors":"Benoît Schreck,&nbsp;Camille Forcier,&nbsp;Marianne Balem,&nbsp;Clémence Cabelguen,&nbsp;Juliette Leboucher,&nbsp;Marie Grall-Bronnec,&nbsp;Gaëlle Challet-Bouju","doi":"10.1159/000530110","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000530110","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Since the first description of sex addiction (SA) by Carnes, research on this problematic behaviour has continued to grow, and the association with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) appears to be frequent. This study aimed to estimate the frequency of a history of probable ADHD in a population of patients with SA and to explore the factors associated with it.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>One hundred 85 patients referred to the Nantes University Hospital for SA between 2011 and 2020 were included. Patients completed the Sexual Addiction Screening Test (SAST) or its revised version (SAST-R) to establish the presence of SA. As the SAST-R was not validated in French, we conducted a validation study for the French version. ADHD was screened using the Wender-Utah Rating Scale in childhood and the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale in adulthood. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to identify factors associated with the presence of a history of probable ADHD.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Childhood ADHD was identified in 36% of patients with SA. Factors associated with the presence of a history of probable ADHD were a low education level, an earlier age of onset of problematic sexual behaviour, another addictive disorder, an anxiety disorder, impulsivity (high negative urgency score), and high scores on harm avoidance and novelty-seeking temperament scales. Furthermore, the French version of the SAST-R displayed good psychometric properties, especially excellent sensitivity.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The frequency of a history of probable ADHD among patients with SA is consistent with the literature and close to the highest range. Specific personality traits in patients with both SA and a history of probable ADHD could induce lasting problems of adaptation, which may precipitate the development of SA or maintain it.</p>","PeriodicalId":11902,"journal":{"name":"European Addiction Research","volume":"29 3","pages":"161-170"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10244745","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":"Erratum.","authors":"","doi":"10.1159/000533445","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000533445","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11902,"journal":{"name":"European Addiction Research","volume":" ","pages":"373"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11777130/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10131500","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Internet Use Disorders: Subjective Importance of Online Friends in the Context of Real-Life Social Support and Comorbid Mental Disorders.","authors":"Hannah Schmidt,&nbsp;Gallus Bischof,&nbsp;Anja Bischof,&nbsp;Ulrich John,&nbsp;Christian Meyer,&nbsp;Florian Rehbein,&nbsp;Bettina Besser,&nbsp;Dominique Brandt,&nbsp;Svenja Orlowski,&nbsp;Hans-Jürgen Rumpf","doi":"10.1159/000529943","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000529943","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Previous studies analyzing friendships with people only known through the Internet mainly focused on quantitative aspects (e.g., the number of online friends or the time spent with them). Little is known about the perceived quality of online compared to real-life friends in individuals with an Internet use disorder (IUD). This study aimed to analyze associations of the increased subjective importance of online friends and IUD by controlling for the perceived real-life social support and comorbid mental disorders.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Based on a general population sample, 192 participants who were screened positive for risky Internet use took part in face-to-face clinical diagnostic interviews. IUD was assessed using the structure of the Munich-Composite International Diagnostic Interview (M-CIDI) and the adapted criteria of Internet gaming disorder in the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). The number and the increased subjective importance of online compared to real-life friends were assessed with the Online and Real-Life Friends scale (ORLF), real-life social support was assessed with the Berlin Social Support Scales (BSSS), and comorbidity was assessed with the M-CIDI. Data were analyzed with binary regression models.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of 192 participants with risky Internet use, 39 participants (19 men; age M = 29.9, SD = 12.2) fulfilled the criteria of IUD in the last 12 months. IUD was not associated with the number or perceived social support of online friends per se. In multivariate analyses, IUD was associated with increased subjective importance of online friends, independently from comorbid anxiety or mood disorders. However, when controlling for real-life social support, associations of IUD and increased subjective importance of online friends were no longer present.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These findings highlight the necessity of therapeutic interventions aimed at strengthening social skills and engaging in real-life relationships in the prevention and therapy of IUD. Due to the small sample size and the cross-sectional analysis, however, further research is needed.</p>","PeriodicalId":11902,"journal":{"name":"European Addiction Research","volume":"29 3","pages":"222-230"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10244792","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":"Feasibility and Short-Term Effects of Low-Threshold Opioid Substitution Treatment during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Hamburg, Germany.","authors":"Fabian Vorberg,&nbsp;Jens Reimer,&nbsp;Uwe Verthein","doi":"10.1159/000527826","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000527826","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>After rapidly opening up a low-threshold clinic to support heavily opioid-dependent persons at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020 in Hamburg (Germany), this non-interventional study evaluated the feasibility and short-term effects of opioid substitution treatment (OST). The low-threshold concept was customized for the pandemic situation and is the first of its kind in Germany.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Patients who had already begun treatment were questioned in two assessments, at T1 shortly after beginning treatment and at T2 6 months later. The primary outcome criterion was their quality of life using the OSTQOL. Secondary criteria included retention rate, their mental and physical health (measured by the BSI-18 and the OTI Health Scale), social situation, drug use, COVID-19 status, and satisfaction with treatment.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Out of 84 patients included in the study, 51 participated in both assessments, resulting in a 6-month retention rate of 60.7%. 27.5% were females, and 72.5% were males. The feasibility question of the low-threshold OST clinic can clearly be answered positively. During the course of the study over 6 months, the situation mainly remained stable regarding quality of life, physical and mental health, and days of drug consumption. Patients significantly reduced the time they spent on the drug scene from 8.5 (SD = 7.56) to 6.1 (SD = 6.71) hours a day between the beginning of OST and T2 (p = 0.020). While 56.9% answered to be homeless at the beginning of OST, only 33.3% answered not to have found an accommodation by T2 (p = 0.012). The number of patients having contact to social workers increased from 51.0% to 74.5% (p = 0.004). Almost 2 fifths of the patients took part in PCR testing for COVID-19 (that only being done if they had symptoms), and none of the tests were positive.</p><p><strong>Discussion/conclusions: </strong>Overall, the low-threshold OST clinic has been successfully implemented in order to help a vulnerable group of people navigate through a global pandemic and support the public health sector. Further conclusions on effects are limited by the short study period and the small number of patients, which calls for further research studies in a larger setting.</p>","PeriodicalId":11902,"journal":{"name":"European Addiction Research","volume":"29 1","pages":"44-51"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9808886/pdf/ear-0001.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10706568","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}