Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs最新文献

Objective: To examine trends in cannabis-related hospital visits in Arizona from 2016-2021 and associations with hospital visits for a mental health condition.

Methods: Data were emergency department and inpatient hospital discharge records from all Arizona licensed hospitals from 2016-2021. Records comprised 18,758,614 hospital visits. Cannabis-related visits were defined by International Classification of Diseases (ICD) diagnostic code for cannabis use (unspecified use, abuse, dependence) or poisoning. Mental health visits were defined by ICD diagnostic codes for mental health conditions.

Results: The rate of cannabis-related hospital visits increased from 1,301.50 per 100k visits in 2016 to 1,565.54 per 100k visits in 2021 - a 20% increase. The increase was larger for visits by adolescents and older adults ages 65+ -- 63.94% and 84.45%, respectively. Cannabis-related visits were 7.75 (95% CI: 7.69, 7.81) times as likely as visits unrelated to cannabis to have a mental health condition as the primary diagnosis from 2016-2021, and were 2.32 (95% CI: 2.30, 2.34) times as likely after adjustment for covariates, including alcohol and other substance-related diagnoses. The association between cannabis-related visits and mental health-related visits increased each year, particularly for older adults ages 65+.

Conclusions: The rate of cannabis-related hospital visits is increasing, as is the cannabis-related risk of a hospital visit for a mental health condition. The increases are especially pronounced among hospital visits by older adults (ages 65+), highlighting the need for prevention and intervention in this under-recognized at-risk group.

Objective: Sexual aggression and heavy drinking are interrelated concerns among college men. As a result, integrated prevention interventions now exist to address co-occurring risk for sexual aggression and heavy drinking. The Sexual Assault and Alcohol Feedback and Education (SAFE) program is a multi-session integrated alcohol and sexual assault prevention program for college men that addresses alcohol use, sexual activity, social norms, alcohol-related sexual consequences, understanding of consent, and engagement in bystander intervention. Given that prior sexual aggression is a risk factor for subsequent perpetration of sexual aggression, the present study examined whether the effect of SAFE on a range of outcomes (rape myth acceptance, hypergender ideology, labeling of consent, and bystander intervention intentions) depended on men's baseline history of perpetration.

Method: Participants in the study were heavy drinking college men (N = 115) randomly assigned to SAFE or a mindfulness-based control condition, and who completed follow-ups at two and six months. Data were analyzed using multilevel modeling.

Results: Degree of prior sexual aggression significantly moderated effects of SAFE on change in intentions to intervene, as well as rape myth acceptance, between baseline and six months. As baseline perpetration decreased, those receiving SAFE significantly increased bystander intervention intentions more so than the control group. As baseline perpetration increased, those receiving SAFE significantly increased rape myth acceptance more so than the control group.

Conclusion: Findings emphasize the importance of continued examination of who benefits from integrated alcohol and sexual assault prevention programs.

Objective: Buprenorphine is the standard of care for treatment of opioid withdrawal. However, when sublingual (SL) administration is not appropriate or practical, parenteral administration by the intravenous (IV) or intramuscular (IM) route may be a reasonable substitute. Although previously used intravenously for the treatment of pain, current practitioners have limited experience with parenteral use of buprenorphine.

Methods: This is a case series using retrospective chart review of patients at an urban public hospital who received IV or IM buprenorphine for treatment of opioid withdrawal. A query of the electronic health record (EHR) was performed to identify patients who had received IV or IM buprenorphine from January 2020 to December 2021. Charts were reviewed for patient demographics, medical history, substance use history, urine drug screens, clinical scenario, indication for parenteral buprenorphine, dose of buprenorphine, vital sign trends, and any measure of change in withdrawal.

Results: Eight patients were identified. The most frequent initial dose of parenteral buprenorphine was 0.3 mg, and if buprenorphine needed to be re-dosed it was most commonly administered every six hours. The most common indications for use were delirium or intractable nausea and vomiting related to opioid withdrawal. Withdrawal improved in 6 of the 8 cases, and often allowed for subsequent use of SL buprenorphine. There were no adverse effects identified.

Conclusion: Parenteral buprenorphine was successfully used to treat opioid withdrawal in a select group of patients. Further studies are needed to identify the optimal use parameters of parenteral buprenorphine.

Individuals access and perceive information about cannabis differently according to age groups. This study compared differences in beliefs and knowledge regarding cannabis, and exposure to information, advertisement, and prevention messages among emerging (18-24 years old), prime-age (25-44), middle-age (45-64), and old-age adults (65 and over). Participants (n=2,001) completed online questionnaires regarding their sociodemographic characteristics, mental health perception, cannabis use, sources of cannabis information, and exposure to advertisement and prevention messages. Bivariate analyses allowed the detection of differences among the age groups. Emerging adults exhibited more positive attitudes regarding cannabis and were more knowledgeable regarding cannabis facts than their older counterparts. Online media constituted the principal source of information for the overall sample. Health resources were the most trusted information source for all age groups, but only one-fifth of the sample consulted them. A higher proportion of emerging adults were exposed to cannabis advertisements and prevention messages. Old-age adults were more likely to be reached through traditional media. As perceptions and beliefs about cannabis, information access, and exposure to advertisement or prevention messages vary across age groups, effective prevention and education should be tailored accordingly. Health resources and scientific literature about cannabis should become more accessible and understandable to the general population.

Objective: Sexual victimization (SV) is common among men who have sex with men (MSM) as is dating and sexual networking (DSN) app use. We developed a novel laboratory paradigm ("G-Date") of sexual violence risk perception in DSN app environments and explored its validity and the role of substance misuse and SV history on sexual violence risk perception.

Method: Using convenience sampling, we recruited 145 MSM to use G-Date to interact with two bogus speed dates whose responses were scripted to be risky or non-risky. Risky dates displayed several cues indicating risk for sexual violence perpetration. Dependent variables included pre/post changes in ratings of their dating partner's appeal; ratings of the presence of each of the embedded risk cues; and the duration of the speed dates.

Results: Compared to non-risky dates, participants terminated risky dates significantly sooner, rated them higher in each of the risk cues, and their pre- to post-date ratings of partner appeal declined significantly more. Participants' drug misuse was associated with reduced interest in the non-risky date, but not the risky date and predicted shorter speed date length and lower partner appeal ratings across date type. Substance-facilitated SV history interacted with alcohol misuse and date type to predict sexual violence risk perception.

Conclusions: Results provide evidence for the paradigm's validity and suggest that drug misuse and substance-facilitated SV history shape MSM's risk perception in DSN apps. Efforts to prevent SV among MSM should consider individual characteristics, including substance misuse, in risk perception.

Objective: Previous work has investigated parents' reports of motives for communicating with their young adults about alcohol. While parents' self-reported motives may predict intentions to communicate, young adults' perceptions of their parents' motives may be important for understanding young adults' responses to parent alcohol communication. The present study was conducted to explore college students' perceptions of their parents' motives for alcohol communication and to investigate whether perceptions of these motives predict changes in alcohol consumption and related consequences during the transition to college.

Method: First-year college students (N = 306) participated in a longitudinal survey study. Baseline measures at pre-matriculation (T1) included assessments of student perceptions of their parents' motives for alcohol communication and covariates (e.g., perceived peer descriptive drinking norms, parental modeling and alcohol communication, and drinking and consequences). At a 1-month follow-up (T2), students reported on their alcohol use and consequences.

Results: Controlling for other predictors of college student drinking, results indicate that for each one-unit increase in perceived parental reactive communication motives, the incidence rate of typical weekly drinking increased by 9%, and heavy episodic drinking (HED) increased by 21%. Conversely, the incidence rate of HED decreased by 27% for each one-unit increase in perceived maternal family history communication motives.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that college students' perceptions of their parents' motives for alcohol communication can significantly influence their drinking behavior during the transition to college.

Decades of research have been dedicated to the study and prevention of sexual aggression (SA) perpetration. Despite robust evidence linking acute intoxication and SA perpetration, few studies have examined this association in naturalistic contexts like drinking settings. Field studies are needed to inform etiological models and interventions that generalize to the naturalist environment.

Objective: The goal of this paper is to provide guidance to researchers on the logistical and ethical considerations involved in conducting an alcohol field study by detailing the methodology employed in a field study on alcohol and sexual misperception.

Method: This article presents a field study protocol for measuring sexual misperception, a precursor to SA, in patrons exiting bars. One hundred forty-three participants completed study procedures. In-depth information on procedures for site selection, recruitment, screening, measure selection, consent, and capacity assessment is provided.

Conclusions: Field studies can evaluate proximal causes of alcohol-involved sexual aggression and intermediary processes like sexual misperception in naturalistic settings. Greater implementation of field studies is required for a comprehensive understanding of alcohol-involved SA perpetration and for generalizable interventions.

Background: To examine sex differences in overdose (OD) mortality based upon substances involved.

Methods: A retrospective database analysis of West Virginia OD decedents (12,666 unintentional OD deaths, 2005-early 2023). Exposures were substances judged to contribute to death. The main outcome measure was determination of male to female death ratios with varying co-intoxicant involvement, particularly related to alcohol and fentanyl. Secondary outcomes included associations of fentanyl concentrations with alcohol concentrations and male sex, including fentanyl (F) and inactive metabolite norfentanyl (N) concentration variability between sexes.

Results: Alcohol co-intoxication in OD deaths was associated with higher male:female death ratios, from 2.0 (alcohol absent) to 3.3 (alcohol present). There was a greater increase over time in alcohol involvement in recent deaths involving females compared to males (relative increases of 52% vs. 6%, respectively). Male:female ratios with alcohol and fentanyl co-involvement ranged from 5.9:1 (only two drugs involved) to 2.4:1 (= 5 substances), with females significantly more likely to have multiple substances contributing to death. Overall, males had statistically significantly larger fentanyl (F) to norfentanyl (N) median concentration ratios compared to females (8.8 vs. 6.9, respectively). Multivariable analyses found alcohol presence was associated with a statistically significant 22% reduction in predicted fentanyl concentrations.

Conclusions: Male:female ratios in unintentional OD deaths were higher with greater alcohol involvement and lower with fewer co-intoxicants. Fentanyl and norfentanyl concentration differences by sex were observed. It is important to determine possible contributors to sex differences in OD death rates to better target prevention and treatment initiatives.

Objective: Food and alcohol disturbance (FAD) is the use of any compensatory behavior (e.g., skipping meals) within the context of a drinking episode. FAD has two underlying motives: to enhance the effects of alcohol (FAD-AE) and/or compensate for calories consumed from alcohol (FAD-CC). Prior work finds that FAD is positively associated with alcohol-related outcomes; however, it is unclear whether FAD confers increased risk above alcohol use alone, and whether there are differences in alcohol outcomes by FAD motive. Thus, the present study evaluated alcohol use patterns (i.e., past-month quantity/frequency, binge use, consequences, and drinking motives) by FAD status and FAD motives.

Method: Data were from the Stimulant Norms and Prevalence 2 (SNAP2) study, which included 5,809 undergraduates from six US universities. Participants were grouped into four categories: Alcohol-Only, FAD-AE, FAD-CC, and FAD-both (i.e., both FAD-AE and FAD-CC motives). Ordinary least squares regression was used for drinking motives and quasi-Poisson regressions were used for other outcomes.

Results: Alcohol use quantity, frequency, binge use, and consequences were all greatest in the FAD-both group and lowest in the alcohol-only group, with the FAD-AE and FAD-CC groups intermediate and not significantly different from each other. To illustrate, the FAD-both group had 47%, 33%, and 25% greater alcohol-related consequences than the Alcohol-Only, FAD-CC, and FAD-AE groups, respectively. This stepwise pattern held for drinking motives, with fewer significant differences.

Conclusions: Engagement in FAD is linked to increased likelihood of poor alcohol outcomes versus alcohol use alone, and FAD for both motives represents the highest risk group.