Emerging trends in drugs, addictions, and health最新文献

Background

The non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) is an emerging phenomenon of serious public health concern among young people globally. This study seeks to determine the predictors, motives, sources, patterns of use of NMUPD among youths in the Buea Health District of the South west region.

Materials and Methods

A mixed-method community-based, cross-sectional study conducted from May to June 2018, enrolled participants aged 15 - 29 years from schools and community. A pretested semi-structured questionnaire was used to capture data and focus group discussions and key informant interviews were conducted. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed with SPSS version 24 and ATLAS.ti version 7 respectively. Logic regression analysis were carried at 5 % significance level.

Results

The study enrolled 464 participants (median age of 21 years, IQR: 18 – 23.8 years) into the quantitative study, 63 % were females. Forty-nine participants were enrolled for the qualitative study. A total of 90 (19.6 %; CI: 15.9 – 23.3 %) participants accepted they have used prescriptions medications in the last 12 months for non-medical purposes. Opioids (74.4 %) particularly tramadol (60.1 %) were the most common drugs used. Male gender (p = 0.001), the age group 20–24-year, smoking (p = 0.043) and use of illicit substances (p < 0.001) were independent predictors of NMUPD. Prominent motivations were:- curiosity (31.1 %) and enhancement of work performance (30 %). Unregistered pharmacies and private health facilities were the main sources of these drugs which are acquired mainly without prescription.

Conclusion

Male gender, young adults, smoking and use of illicit substances were independent predictors of NMUPD. Motives were hinged to enhancement of performance in various domains of social life. Opioids, particularly tramadol was the predominant drug used, acquired without prescription from unregistered pharmacies. Findings of this study provide baseline evidence that could guide policies on drug prevention, treatment and harm reduction interventions.

The aim of the project was to identify new performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) including novel psychoactive substances (NPS) both in the Darkweb as well as in the Clearnet that could be offered to athletes to improve their performance.

Searches on the Darkweb revealed that the number of PEDs offered to athletes is limited, and mainly center on well-known anabolic steroids, peptide hormones, stimulants and metabolic modulators. No novel substances were found and the most sophisticated were well known and also offered on the Clearnet.

On the Clearnet, we targeted novel psychoactive substances (NPS) reported by the UNODC Early Warning Advisory on NPS during the period of 2018 to July 2023. None of these substances could be found in nutritional supplements targeting the athletic population, nor did they appear in chat rooms exchanging information on performance enhancing stimulants.

In conclusion, it appears that PEDs constitute only a minimal part of the Darkweb market and all of the ones offered are well known substances. On the Clearnet, NPS recently released into the market do not make immediate appearance in supplements for the sports community.

Mukbang watching (i.e., watching eating broadcasts) is an emerging online behaviour that has recently gained popularity. Although, there are a number of positive impacts of recreational mukbang watching (e.g., helping overcome loneliness), for a minority of individuals, excessive mukbang watching may turn into problematic (i.e., addictive) mukbang watching and lead to negative consequences. The present study investigated the addictive symptoms of mukbang watching using a qualitative design. The study attempted to determine the addictive symptoms of mukbang watching through semi-structured interviews with a sample of eight mukbang viewers who frequently watched mukbang. Directed content analysis was used to analyse the data. Nine key themes were explored comprising preoccupation, withdrawal, tolerance, inability to stop, loss of interest, continuing despite problems, deceiving family/friends, relieving negative mood, and risking relationships. Findings of the present study concur with those of previous survey research suggesting that mukbang watching may be another online addictive behaviour that can result in adverse consequences for individuals’ mental, social, and physical health.

Anxiety is a widespread and serious mental health issue that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and other stressors. In this study, we explore how online behavior data from Google and YouTube can be used to infer anxiety levels in individuals. We collected and processed digital traces from nearly 100 participants over eight weeks and applied various machine learning techniques to extract features and build predictive models. We found that combining data from multiple media modalities can yield highly accurate predictive models for anxiety as self-reported by a clinical GAD-7 scale (AUC > 0.86). We also found that the semantic categories of online engagement can affect the predictive performance of the models. This study contributes to the field of computational social science and digital mental health and demonstrates the potential of using online behavior data to monitor psychological well-being and design interventions for anxiety.

In 2019, we published three innovative quantitative structure-activity relationship models (QSAR) for predicting the affinity of mu-opioid receptor (µOR) ligands. The three different models were then combined to produce a consensus model used to explore the chemical landscape of 3000 virtual fentanyl-like structures, also generated by us by a theoretical scaffold-hopping approach to explore potential novel active substances and predict their activity. Interestingly, five years have passed, and some of the virtual predicted compounds have been identified/reported to e.g. the EU Early Warning System or the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, thus confirming our warning hypothesis that new emerging drugs from our screen would find way to the market.

Objective

This study identified factors associated with early initiation of substance use.

Method

This study uses cross-sectional pooled data from the 2015–2019 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), which is a nationally representative sample of adolescents and adults assessing substance use and mental health. We sought to identify factors associated with early initiation of substance use.

Results

Among the study sample, 27.9 % initiated drug use prior to 18 years of age. Multivariable logistic regression models revealed that the odds of early initiation were greater among males (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.42, 95 % Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.35–1.48), younger in age (aOR for 18–25 years old: 2.32, 95 % CI 2.14–2.49), and Non-Hispanic White (aOR 2.15, 95 % CI: 1.92–2.41). Additionally, it was found that the odds of early initiation were lower among those who resided in non-metro areas (aOR 0.88, 95 % CI: 0.82–0.95).

Conclusions

Our study suggests that early initiation of drug use varies by demographic factors, and it continues to occur at earlier ages. Different prevention strategies should be tailored to address upstream factors that are associated with risky behavior among children and adolescents. Moreover, clinical strategies should further target younger age and should integrate mental health interventions as needed for those who were early initiators.

The previous two decades have been marked by profound societal transformations, including ongoing developments in the illegal drug market and the emergence of numerous novel psychoactive substances. Nevertheless, a comprehensive understanding of the diverse clinical presentations of psychopathological conditions, particularly within the domain of psychotic symptoms, remains deficient. In this clinical overview, our aim is to provide a detailed analysis of the psychotic manifestations induced by various substances. Exogenous psychoses may present with visual hallucinations, delusional perceptions, and paranoid ideation, frequently accompanied by an ego-dystonic experience that deviate from an individual's customary self-identity. Variations in the presentation of symptoms are also influenced by the specific pharmacological pathways with which the substance interacts. Visual hallucinations characterized by vivid colours and associated with positive or negative emotional experiences are most frequently linked to the serotonergic pathway. Paranoid ideation and auditory hallucinations are primarily associated with the dopaminergic pathways. Dissociative responses, often characterized by feelings of derealization and somatopsychic depersonalization, are typically elicited through glutamatergic pathways. Lastly, the endocannabinoid pathways are associated with anxiety-related psychosis-like states, ideas of reference, grandiose delusions, and paranoid delusions.

Background

Previous research has reported mental health variables and maladaptive cognitive emotion processes to be associated with severity of problematic social networking site use (PSNSU) and problematic smartphone use (PSU). The present study examined trait and state fear of missing out (FOMO) dimensions and their potential mediating roles in explaining relations between PSNSU and PSU severity.

Method

A sample of 461 participants (mean age = 24.15, SD = 7.78) completed an online survey protocol measuring trait and state FOMO, PSU, and PSNSU.

Results

Structural equation modelling revealed that trait and state FOMO were significantly associated with PSNSU severity, and PSNSU severity was associated with PSU severity. State (but not trait) FOMO mediated relations between PSNSU and PSU severity.

Conclusions

The study demonstrates the role of FOMO, especially state FOMO, in association with PSNSU and PSU severity.