{"title":"Early Age of Cannabis Initiation and Its Association With Suicidal Behaviors.","authors":"Manik Ahuja, Manul Awasthi, Suzanna Gim, Kathie Records, Johanna Cimilluca, Kawther Al-Ksir, Johnathan Tremblay, Riddhi P Doshi, Thiveya Sathiyasaleen, Praveen Fernandopulle","doi":"10.1177/11782218221116731","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/11782218221116731","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Suicide rates in the U.S. have continued to rise over the last 2 decades. The increased availability and broader legalization of cannabis is a public health concern, particularly among adolescents. The objective of this study was to examine the association between the age of cannabis initiation and lifetime suicidal ideations and attempts in a sample of adults aged 18 or older.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data are from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (CPES), 2001 to 2003 (N = 15 238). The primary objective of the CPES was to collect data about the prevalence of mental disorders, impairments associated with these disorders, and their treatment patterns from representative samples of majority and minority adult populations in the U.S. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to test the association between cannabis initiation age (early ⩽14 years old; later >14 years old) and outcomes of lifetime suicide ideation and attempts. Cigarette use, cannabis use, gender, income, race, education, and age were controlled for the analyses.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Overall, 12.5% of participants reported suicide ideation, while 4.2% reported attempt. Early cannabis use was associated with a higher risk of suicide ideation (AOR = 3.32, 95% CI [2.75, 3.80]) than later cannabis use (AOR = 2.15, 95% CI [1.92, 2.39]). Early cannabis use was associated with a higher risk of suicide attempt (AOR = 4.38, 95% CI [3.48, 5.52]) than later cannabis use (AOR = 2.56, 95% CI [2.14, 3.06]). Wald chi-squared tests revealed significant differences between the early and late initiation for both ideation (χ<sup>2</sup> = 26.99; <i>P</i> < .001) and attempts (χ<sup>2</sup> = 26.02; <i>P</i> < .001).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Significant associations were found between early initiation of cannabis and suicide behaviors. As suicide rates continue to rise, it is recommended that clinicians, treatment providers, and other professionals consider the use of cannabis at an early age as a risk for subsequent suicide behaviors.</p>","PeriodicalId":22185,"journal":{"name":"Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment","volume":" ","pages":"11782218221116731"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/1f/7d/10.1177_11782218221116731.PMC9373116.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40614078","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Aryeh Dienstag, Penina Dienstag, Kanwal Mohan, Omar Mirza, Elizabeth Schubert, Laura Ford, Margot Edelman, Gene Im, Akhil Shenoy
{"title":"An Assessment of the Psychosocial Evaluation for Early Liver Transplantation in Patients With Acute Alcoholic Hepatitis in the Context of Alcohol Use Disorder, a Case-Control Study.","authors":"Aryeh Dienstag, Penina Dienstag, Kanwal Mohan, Omar Mirza, Elizabeth Schubert, Laura Ford, Margot Edelman, Gene Im, Akhil Shenoy","doi":"10.1177/11782218221115659","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/11782218221115659","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Severe acute alcoholic hepatitis (AAH) has an extremely poor prognosis with a high short term mortality rate. As a result, many centers, including our own, have allowed transplant patients to be listed for transplantation prior to achieving 6-months of sobriety. Several scoring systems, designed to target patients with a minimal period of sobriety, have been proposed to identify patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD), who would be predisposed to relapse after liver transplantation. We investigated whether these scoring systems corroborated the results of the non-structured selection criteria used by our center regarding decision to list for transplant.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a retrospective case-control study of 11 patients who underwent early liver transplantation for AAH matched with 11 controls who were declined secondary to low insight into AUD. Blinded raters confirmed the severity of the diagnosis of DSM-5 and scored the patients on a variety of structured psychometric scales used to predict alcohol relapse. These included the High Risk for Alcohol Relapse Scale (HRAR), Stanford Integrated Psychosocial Assessment Tool (SIPAT), Alcohol Relapse Risk Assessment (ARRA), Hopkins Psychosocial Scale (HPSS), Michigan Alcoholism Prognosis Score (MAPS), Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test -Consumption (AUDIT-C), and Sustained Alcohol Use Post-Liver Transplant (SALT) scales. All patients who underwent transplantation were followed for harmful and non-harmful drinking until the end of the study period.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The transplant recipients had significantly favorable MAPS, HRAR, SIPAT, ARRA, and HPSS scores with cutoffs that matched their previous research. The SALT and AUDIT-C scores were not predictive of our selection of patients for transplantation. Despite an expedited evaluation and no significant period of sobriety, our case cohort had a 30% relapse to harmful drinking after an average of 6.6 years (5-8.5 years) of follow-up.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Despite the rapid assessment and the short to no period of sobriety, the patient cohort demonstrated a 30% relapse to harmful drinking, consistent with the 20% to 30% relapse to drinking rate reported after liver transplantation for all forms of alcoholic liver disease. Average scores from MAPS, HRAR, SIPAT, ARRA, and HPSS corroborated our current stratification procedures, with lower mean risk scores found in the transplanted group.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Patients with AUD and severe AAH who obtain new insight into their disease and posses other favorable psychosocial factors have low rates of AUD relapse post-liver-transplantation. The psychosocial selection criteria for patients with alcoholic hepatitis in our institution are consistent with 4 of the 5 scoring systems investigated in their prediction of sobriety post-transplant.</p>","PeriodicalId":22185,"journal":{"name":"Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment","volume":" ","pages":"11782218221115659"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/ba/b8/10.1177_11782218221115659.PMC9373124.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40614076","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Merel Keijsers, Maria Cecilia Vega-Corredor, Simon Hoermann, Melanie Tomintz
{"title":"Cue Reactivity to Electronic Cigarettes: A Systematic Review.","authors":"Merel Keijsers, Maria Cecilia Vega-Corredor, Simon Hoermann, Melanie Tomintz","doi":"10.1177/11782218221114971","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/11782218221114971","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cue reactivity to Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) has been studied by several researchers, yet the variability in user types (smokers, former smokers, dual users, exclusive ENDS users) and ENDS designs used between the studies may have undermined consistent results. This systematic review aims to give an overview of ENDS cue reactivity and how smoking status and device design may moderate this. A systematic search of Medline, Embase, Web of Science, PubMed and Cochrane was completed. All studies which reported findings on reactivity to ENDS cues in the form of craving or desire for ENDS or cigarettes, attention to cue, delay of gratification or economic decisions were included. Exclusion criteria were non-human subjects, non-adult participants or participants with comorbidities. Literature selection was carried out by 2 independent reviewers. The risk of bias and study quality were assessed using tools developed by Cochrane, BMJ and NHLBI. A total of 711 papers were screened and 22 studies were included in the current review. Study design, research question(s), population of interest, number of participants, dependent variable(s), ENDS generation and nicotine content used and study results were extracted. ENDS cues reliably induced ENDS craving, with no clear moderation by smoking status and no apparent moderation by device generation. In about half of the studies, ENDS cues induced craving for conventional cigarettes. Most studies used a smoker sample, thus limiting the conclusions that can be drawn on the moderation of cue reactivity by smoking status. The quality varied among studies but comparing the findings against the outcomes of only high-quality studies did not yield any different results. The results of this review support the notion of cue reactivity to ENDS, identifies gaps in current research on different user types and implies that ENDS design iterations have little impact on cue reactivity.</p>","PeriodicalId":22185,"journal":{"name":"Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment","volume":" ","pages":"11782218221114971"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/ab/99/10.1177_11782218221114971.PMC9340385.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40679273","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Comparison of Lapse Rate in Drug Dependent Patients in 2 Methods of Methadone Maintenance Treatment and Buprenorphine Maintenance Treatment.","authors":"Mohammadreza Vafaeinasab, Hamidreza Zare, Ali Dehghani, Seyedehzahra Malek, Maryam Dehghani-Tafti, Mohammadtaghi Sarebanhassanabadi","doi":"10.1177/11782218221112502","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/11782218221112502","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Lapse has been one of the major challenges in the treatment of drug dependence sometimes leading to its relapse.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The aim of this study was to determine the lapse rate in drug dependent patients as for the 2 methods of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) and buprenorphine maintenance treatment (BMT) in Yazd city.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this cross-sectional study, 626 female and male patients who had referred to 5 SUD treatment centers in Yazd and had been treated with methadone and buprenorphine maintenance were studied. Participants were divided into 2 groups of MMT and BMT and were evaluated based on lapse within 6 months.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In this study, 60.9% of patients were treated with methadone but the rest were treated with buprenorphine. Overall, 33.1% of patients lapsed (35.2% for methadone and 29.8%for buprenorphine). Lapse in methadone treatment was correlated with age, occupational status, and duration of treatment (<i>P</i> < .05); it failed to correlated with any other demographic and clinical characteristics (<i>P</i> > .05). Lapse rate in buprenorphine treatment was also related to marital status and the drug used (<i>P</i> < .05). The mean dose of buprenorphine consumed showed no significant relationship with lapse (<i>P</i> > .05). The results demonstrated that given the low dose, lapse stood higher in the buprenorphine group than the methadone group; however, as to high dose, the buprenorphine group showed lower lapse than the other group.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>In regard with the high rate of lapse, it is recommended to consider the factors related to the 2 methods of treatments, and provide counseling and training programs to lower lapse in the patients.<b>Ethics Committee (REC) approval code:</b> IR.SSU.REC.1394.158.</p>","PeriodicalId":22185,"journal":{"name":"Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment","volume":" ","pages":"11782218221112502"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/30/41/10.1177_11782218221112502.PMC9315257.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40556108","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Rethinking Unhealthy Alcohol Use in the United States: A Structured Review.","authors":"Joseph R Volpicelli, Percy Menzies","doi":"10.1177/11782218221111832","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/11782218221111832","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Greater than moderate alcohol use spans a continuum that includes high levels of total alcohol consumed per period (heavy drinking) as well as episodes of intense drinking (binges) and can give rise to alcohol use disorder (AUD) when associated with an inability to control alcohol use despite negative consequences. Although moderate drinking and AUD have standard, operable definitions in the United States (US), a significant \"gray area\" remains in which an individual may exceed recommended drinking guidelines but does not meet the criteria for AUD (hereafter referred to as unhealthy alcohol use). To address this need, we conducted a structured literature search to evaluate how this gray area is defined and assess its burden within the US. For purposes of this review, we will refer to this gray area as \"unhealthy alcohol use.\" Although numerous terms are used to describe various unsafe drinking practices, our review did not find any studies in which the specific prevalence and/or burden of unhealthy alcohol use was evaluated. That is, we found no studies that focus exclusively on individuals who exceed moderate drinking guidelines but do not meet AUD criteria. Furthermore, we did not discover an established framework for identifying individuals with unhealthy alcohol use. The lack of a consistent framework for identifying unhealthy alcohol users has significant implications for patient management and disease burden assessment. Therefore, we propose the following framework in which unhealthy alcohol use comprises 2 distinct subpopulations: those at risk of experiencing alcohol-related consequences and those who have subthreshold problems associated with use. The former, termed \"risky drinkers,\" are defined by exceeding recommended guidelines for moderate drinking (⩽1 or 2 drinks per day for women and men, respectively). People with subthreshold problems associated with use, defined as exhibiting exactly 1 AUD symptom, would be classified as \"problematic drinkers\" within this proposed framework. These definitions would help bring the core elements of unhealthy alcohol use into focus, which in turn would help identify and provide management strategies sooner to those affected and reduce the overall burden of unhealthy alcohol use.</p>","PeriodicalId":22185,"journal":{"name":"Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment","volume":" ","pages":"11782218221111832"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/a8/71/10.1177_11782218221111832.PMC9310219.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40552076","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
William L Swann, Michael DiNardi, Terri L Schreiber
{"title":"Association Between Interorganizational Collaboration in Opioid Response and Treatment Capacity for Opioid Use Disorder in Counties of Five States: A Cross-Sectional Study.","authors":"William L Swann, Michael DiNardi, Terri L Schreiber","doi":"10.1177/11782218221111949","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/11782218221111949","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Local governments on the front lines of the opioid epidemic often collaborate across organizations to achieve a more comprehensive opioid response. Collaboration is especially important in rural communities, which can lack capacity for addressing health crises, yet little is known about how local collaboration in opioid response relates to key outputs like treatment capacity.</p><p><strong>Purpose: </strong>This cross-sectional study examined the association between local governments' interorganizational collaboration activity and agonist treatment capacity for opioid use disorder (OUD), and whether this association was stronger for rural than for metropolitan communities.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data on the location of facilities providing buprenorphine and methadone were merged with a 2019 survey of all 358 counties in 5 states (CO, NC, OH, PA, and WA) that inquired about their collaboration activity for opioid response. Regression analysis was used to estimate the effect of a collaboration activity index and its constituent items on the capacity to provide buprenorphine or methadone in a county and whether this differed by urbanicity.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A response rate of 47.8% yielded an analytic sample of n = 171 counties, including 77 metropolitan, 50 micropolitan, and 44 rural counties. Controlling for covariates, a 1-unit increase in the collaboration activity index was associated with 0.155 (95% CI = 0.005, 0.304) more methadone facilities, ie, opioid treatment programs (OTPs), per 100 000 population. An interaction model indicated this association was stronger for rural (average marginal effect = 0.354, 95% CI = 0.110, 0.599) than for non-rural counties. Separate models revealed intergovernmental data and information sharing, formal agreements, and organizational reforms were driving the above associations. Collaboration activity did not vary with the capacity to provide buprenorphine at non-OTP facilities. Spatial models used to account for spatial dependence occurring with OUD treatment capacity showed similar results.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Rural communities may be able to leverage collaborations in opioid response to expand treatment capacity through OTPs.</p>","PeriodicalId":22185,"journal":{"name":"Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment","volume":" ","pages":"11782218221111949"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/a9/d1/10.1177_11782218221111949.PMC9284196.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40599350","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Predictors of Pain Reliever Misuse Among Respondents of the United States 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.","authors":"Marissa S Matta, Timothy P Janikowski","doi":"10.1177/11782218221111843","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/11782218221111843","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The risk factors for potential opioid misuse and abuse in patients receiving long-term opioid pain treatment have been a topic of interest in research for many years. There are differences among patients who receive long-term opioid pain treatment. These differences may or may not lead to opioid misuse. This study analyzes the different characteristics and predictors of prescription pain reliever misuse among respondents of the United States 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. It examines the relationships of age, gender, income, perception of risk and availability of heroin, past substance use and alcohol use, the source of the pain relievers, and motivation to misuse pain relievers to pain reliever misuse and if these variables significantly predict pain reliever misuse. Data used in this study were analyzed through sequential multiple linear regression analyses. The significant positive predictors of prescription pain reliever misuse were being 26 or older, perceiving heroin as easily obtainable, and past methamphetamine use. The significant negative predictors of prescription pain reliever misuse were being 12 to 25 years old, perceiving heroin as a great risk, past alcohol use, and obtaining pain relievers from a friend or relative. The goal of this study was to increase the amount of knowledge regarding predictors of prescription opioid misuse to identify those who are at risk and decrease prescription opioid misuse and overdose rates in the United States.</p>","PeriodicalId":22185,"journal":{"name":"Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment","volume":" ","pages":"11782218221111843"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/a6/62/10.1177_11782218221111843.PMC9280814.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40599351","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Silvia Eiken Alpers, Einar Furulund, Ståle Pallesen, Asgeir Mamen, Sindre M Dyrstad, Lars Thore Fadnes
{"title":"The Role of Physical Activity in Opioid Substitution Therapy: A Systematic Review of Interventional and Observational Studies.","authors":"Silvia Eiken Alpers, Einar Furulund, Ståle Pallesen, Asgeir Mamen, Sindre M Dyrstad, Lars Thore Fadnes","doi":"10.1177/11782218221111840","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/11782218221111840","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Use of physical activity in the treatment and follow-up of people receiving opioid substitution therapy is an understudied area of research. Therefore, the objective of this systematic review was to synthesize the currently available research on the role of physical activity in opioid substitution therapy and proper adaptions for the group.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A systematic search was performed on PsycINFO, EMBASE, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Web of Science until September 2021 (PROSPERO-reg.no: CRD42020109873). The inclusion criteria were studies involving physical activity interventions for opioid substitution patients. Reference lists of relevant studies were screened to identify additional relevant studies. Data extracted were compiled into tables and descriptively presented.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The search yielded 2105 unique records. A total of 10 studies were included, whose methodological quality ranged from satisfactory to very good. Study quality was assessed using a 7-/8-point quality score. The agreement between the reviewers, assessed with Cohen's kappa, was 0.91. Overall, the results suggest that physical activity increases physical fitness of patients in opioid substitution therapy and decreases substance use. The minority of studies in this field are of high quality with sufficient power.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The findings of this systematic review suggest beneficial effects of physical activity on physical fitness, substance use, and mental health for patients in opioid substitution therapy. Although the findings are quite consistent across studies, high-quality studies and sufficiently powered clinical trials are needed to confirm and validate the findings and to conclude on the degree of impact.</p>","PeriodicalId":22185,"journal":{"name":"Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment","volume":" ","pages":"11782218221111840"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/40/b8/10.1177_11782218221111840.PMC9280793.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40599353","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Is There an Association Between Salivary Cortisol and Dropping Out of Inpatient Substance Addiction Treatments? A Prospective Repeated Measures Study.","authors":"Kari Bøhle, Eli Otterholt, Stål Bjørkly","doi":"10.1177/11782218221106797","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/11782218221106797","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Several studies have found an association between salivary cortisol levels and dropping out of inpatient substance addiction treatment programs. The results are mixed due to variations in the study design and the lack of standardized routines for cortisol assessment. The aim of this study was to investigate whether there was (1) an association between salivary cortisol levels and dropping out from inpatient substance addiction treatments; (2) higher predictive validity for dropout in one of the cortisol indexes: Area Under the Curve with respect to ground (AUC<sub>G</sub>) or Daily Cortisol Slope (DCS); (3) an interaction effect with time for each cortisol index; and (4) different dropout rates for sex and patients in short-term versus long-term treatment programs. This was a prospective, repeated-measures observational study. Patients (n = 173) were recruited from 2 inpatient facilities in the central region of Norway between 2018 and 2021. Salivary cortisol was measured 4 times during the treatment period, with 8 samples collected over 2 consecutive days at each time point. Cortisol levels were calculated using the cortisol indices AUC<sub>G</sub> and DCS. Dropout was used as the outcome measure at each time point. Associations were calculated using a logistic linear regression. The results suggest a main effect of AUC<sub>G</sub>, whereby higher levels reduce dropout risk (OR = 0.92, <i>P</i> = .047). An interaction with time in treatment also revealed a higher dropout risk (OR = 1.09, <i>P</i> = .044) during week 4 of the treatment, depending on the AUC<sub>G.</sub> These results support using AUC<sub>G</sub> as the recommended index when assessing cortisol, and that the relationship between cortisol levels and length of treatment should be further investigated.</p>","PeriodicalId":22185,"journal":{"name":"Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment","volume":" ","pages":"11782218221106797"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/77/37/10.1177_11782218221106797.PMC9253992.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40572051","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Christina Nehlin, Josefin Bäckström, Charlotte Wollert Brander, Caisa Öster
{"title":"Patients' Perspectives on Coming Off Opioid Agonist Treatment: A Qualitative Study.","authors":"Christina Nehlin, Josefin Bäckström, Charlotte Wollert Brander, Caisa Öster","doi":"10.1177/11782218221107021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/11782218221107021","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims: </strong>Opioid agonist treatment (OAT) programs are life-saving, as they reduce opioid use, overdoses, and criminal activities. Disadvantages reported with long-term OAT include side effects of the medication, especially on cognitive ability and sexual function, which may discourage potential participants. Many of those who participate in OAT have a desire to come off treatment. The aims of this study were to explore patients' thoughts about coming off OAT and to investigate their perceptions of what support they would need in order to realize a planned withdrawal from OAT.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A qualitative interview study with semi-structured interviews, using applied thematic analysis. Persons with experiences of participating in OAT were invited from Swedish programs and a private Facebook community.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Fifteen persons, with a mean of 9.6 (±6.4) years of treatment experience, were included. The participants underlined the need for a patient-centered focus within the treatment. They wanted to be regarded as capable of deciding if, when, and how a planned ending was to take place. They also called for staff to be supportive in making such decisions. Participants recommended staff to be sensitive to the needs of the specific patient and to have strategies for coming off OAT that could be adjusted for the single person.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>OAT programs need to be continually updated and adapted to the persons who can benefit from them. Applying a person-centered, holistic perspective would enhance the quality of the treatment by emanating from individual goals. Regulatory guidelines need to take into account research on patient experiences and perspectives on coming off.</p>","PeriodicalId":22185,"journal":{"name":"Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment","volume":" ","pages":"11782218221107021"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-06-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/36/08/10.1177_11782218221107021.PMC9218892.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40401051","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}