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Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 May 17:1-3. Epub 2022 May 17.

Department of Biomedical Informatics and Medical Education, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 May 17:1-10. Epub 2022 May 17.

Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.

Background: Healthcare databases have the potential to become efficient tools for epidemiological research in People Who Inject Drugs (PWID). The validity of ICD-10 codes for specific substances in this population has not been assessed.

Objectives: Validate ICD-10 diagnosis codes relating to the use of specific substance classes in a cohort of endocarditis patients. Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Apr 25:1-9. Epub 2022 Apr 25.

Behavioral Health Resources and TA Program, Pharmaceutical Health Services Research Department, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Maryland expanded its "Statewide Naloxone Standing Order" (NSO) in 2017 to eliminate training and prescription requirements for obtaining naloxone, improve naloxone access, help reverse opioid overdose, and reduce overdose fatality rates. To assess the change in the trends of fatal opioid overdose rates following the expansion of the Naloxone Standing Order (eNSO) and its association with the social determinants of health (SDoH). Data on overdose deaths and SDoH from 2015-2019 was collected and analyzed using interrupted time series and multivariate Poisson regression models to study the change in trends and the associations. Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Apr 13:1-9. Epub 2022 Apr 13.

Chestnut Health Systems, Normal, IL, USA.

Background: Adverse consequences, including non-fatal overdose and death, are prevalent in adolescents and young adults with opioid use disorder (OUD). Barriers toward medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) have been identified in adult populations but are poorly understood in youth.

Objective: This exploratory multi-mixed methods study examines beliefs and attitudes of addiction treatment program staff about the use of MOUD in youth. Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Apr 13:1-9. Epub 2022 Apr 13.

Department of Preventive Medical Sciences, Fujita Health University School of Medical Sciences, Toyoake, Japan.

: Thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP) controls the cellular redox balance by binding to and inhibiting the expression and function of thioredoxin. DNA methylation of the gene is involved in the regulation of TXNIP mRNA expression. Changes in DNA methylation levels are associated with the development of various diseases such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Apr 11:1-10. Epub 2022 Apr 11.

Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

Background: Pharmacy standing order policies allow pharmacists to dispense naloxone, thereby increasing access to naloxone.

Objectives: To describe pharmacy standing order participation and associations of pharmacy and community characteristics that predict naloxone availability and dispensing across eight counties in Michigan.

Methods: We conducted a telephone survey of 662 standing order pharmacies with a response rate of 81% (n = 539). Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Apr 11:1-10. Epub 2022 Apr 11.

Department of Addiction, School of Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health (Tehran Institute of Psychiatry), Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Background: Addiction is associated with decreased activity of the prefrontal networks, especially dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC).

Objective: This study examined the effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over DLPFC in combination with Matrix Model psychotherapy in the alleviation of craving and cognitive improvement of participants with methamphetamine use disorder.

Methods: In a randomized and sham-controlled trial, 60 male participants were assigned to Matrix psychotherapy only, sham tDCS plus Matrix, or active tDCS plus Matrix. Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Apr 7:1-12. Epub 2022 Apr 7.

Instituto de Cálculo, FCEyN, Universidad de Buenos Aires - CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

In a continuum with applied statistics, machine learning offers a wide variety of tools to explore, analyze, and understand addiction data. These tools include algorithms that can leverage useful information from data to build models; these models can solve particular tasks to answer addiction scientific questions. In this second part of a two-part review on machine learning, we explain how to apply machine learning methods to addiction research. Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Apr 7:1-12. Epub 2022 Apr 7.

Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA.

Background: Kratom ( Korth.) use outside of Southeast Asia has increased over the past decade.

Objectives: This investigation clarifies kratom's role in perceived well-being, overall health, and temporal correlation with drug use to understand kratom's role in the self-treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs). Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Mar 7;48(2):133-147. Epub 2022 Apr 7.

Centro de Excelencia En Biomedicina de Magallanes (CEBIMA), Universidad de Magallanes, Punta Arenas, Chile.

: Chronic alcohol misuse is associated with alcoholic myopathy, characterized by skeletal muscle weakness and atrophy. Moreover, there is evidence that sports-related people seem to exhibit a greater prevalence of problematic alcohol consumption, especially binge drinking (BD), which might not cause alcoholic myopathy but can negatively impact muscle function and amateur and professional athletic performance.: To review the literature concerning the effects of alcohol consumption on skeletal muscle function and structure that can affect muscle performance. Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Apr 7:1-12. Epub 2022 Apr 7.

Instituto de Cálculo, FCEyN, Universidad de Buenos Aires - CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Machine learning assembles a broad set of methods and techniques to solve a wide range of problems, such as identifying individuals with substance use disorders (SUD), finding patterns in neuroimages, understanding SUD prognostic factors and their association, or determining addiction genetic underpinnings. However, the addiction research field underuses machine learning. This two-part narrative review focuses on machine learning tools and concepts, providing an introductory insight into their capabilities to facilitate their understanding and acquisition by addiction researchers. Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Mar 4;48(2):165-175. Epub 2022 Apr 4.

Department of Pharmacological and Toxicological Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Santiago, Chile.

: Hyperpolarization-Activated Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated (HCN) ionic channels are known to play a key role in the control of neuron excitability and have been proposed as a molecular target of ethanol. Previous studies in rats have shown that gene-induced overexpression of the HCN2 channel in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) increases the rewarding effects of ethanol and its intake by the animals.: The aim of this work was to study the effects of VTA HCN2 gene knockdown in the voluntary ethanol consumption of alcohol-preferring UChB rats. Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Feb 23:1-9. Epub 2022 Feb 23.

School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA.

Background: Substance use disorder (SUD) is a heterogeneous disorder. Adapting machine learning algorithms to allow for the parsing of intrapersonal and interpersonal heterogeneity in meaningful ways may accelerate the discovery and implementation of clinically actionable interventions in SUD research.

Objectives: Inspired by a study of heavy drinkers that collected daily drinking and substance use (ABQ DrinQ), we develop tools to estimate subject-specific risk trajectories of heavy drinking; estimate and perform inference on patient characteristics and time-varying covariates; and present results in easy-to-use Jupyter notebooks. Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Mar 15;48(2):176-185. Epub 2022 Feb 15.

Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, Kentucky, USA.

: The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic crisis has provided a unique opportunity to investigate the effects of economic shifts on substance use. Existing literature on this relationship is limited and conflicting, warranting further exploration.: This study aimed to identify relationships between socioeconomic status (SES), demographic variables, and substance use patterns before and after government-mandated business closures due to COVID-19. Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Mar 14;48(2):195-205. Epub 2022 Feb 14.

School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.

: Canada legalized non-medical cannabis in October 2018. Little research has examined the change in perceived access to cannabis after legalization in Canada, including the perceived ease of purchasing cannabis in a legal market.: To: 1) describe changes in perceived ease of access to cannabis before and one year after legalization; 2) examine associations between perceived ease of cannabis access and cannabis use; and 3) examine associations between perceived ease of purchasing from cannabis stores and cannabis use. Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Feb 14:1-11. Epub 2022 Feb 14.

Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.

Background: Exposure to firearm victimization has often been overlooked as a sequela of substance use disorders (SUD).

Objectives: The overall objective of this study was to explore firearm-related victimization and associated factors among men and women entering a supportive housing SUD recovery program.

Methods: This study used program intake information from men (n = 1,758) and women (n = 1,066) clients entering a SUD recovery program. Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Feb 7:1-7. Epub 2022 Feb 7.

UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Background: During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, cannabis dispensaries in the United States (US) reported increased sales.

Objectives: This study assessed changes in cannabis use before to during the pandemic; it was hypothesized that cannabis use increased during the pandemic.

Methods: A US-based survey of adults assessed patterns of use before and during the pandemic. Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Mar 7;48(2):128-132. Epub 2022 Feb 7.

Department of Population Health, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.

Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease in the US. While e-cigarettes (EC) are undeniably harmful when used by adolescents and nonsmokers, the perpetuation of the increasing negative perceptions of EC and widespread false belief that EC are equal or more harmful than combustible cigarettes (CC) represents a significant missed public health opportunity. EC have great potential to serve as a mechanism for smoking harm reduction among hard-to-treat populations of smokers who have failed to quit with currently available treatments. Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Feb 7:1-6. Epub 2022 Feb 7.

Daoud Research Group, Khartoum, Sudan.

Background: People who inject drugs (PWID) are at high risk of contracting blood-borne infections. Many developed countries started a needle exchange program to provide PWID with sterile syringes. In Sudan, healthcare professionals are exposed to legal liability if they cooperate with people who use drugs; therefore, the accessibility to sterile syringes without prescription depends heavily on pharmacists' knowledge and attitude toward PWID. Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Feb 7:1-11. Epub 2022 Feb 7.

Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.

Background: Rural areas have high rates of opioid and stimulant involved polysubstance use which are known to contribute to overdose. Justice-involved women are likely to have multiple substance use disorders and are particularly vulnerable in rural areas where treatment is limited.

Objectives: The research had three aims to (1) identify the patterns of polysubstance use of rural Appalachian justice-involved women, (2) examine how women's engagement in polysubstance use changed in the 12-months following initial release from jail, and (3) determine if women's changes in substance use patterns were associated with re-incarceration during the 12-months of post-release follow-up. Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 01;48(1):120-124

Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, Dallas, TX, USA.

This special issue seeks to characterize the current state of the science regarding risk and protective factors influencing resilience and thriving in relation to substance use among ethnic minorities and other underserved populations. This epilogue examines the scope of work presented in this special issue, the added value of the research presented herein, and how it can inform future research directions. Health disparities research can be conducted using two key approaches: 1) documenting comparing ethnic/racial minorities groups and majority populations; or, 2) documenting in a single racial or ethnic group. Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Jan 31:1-9. Epub 2022 Jan 31.

Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX, USA.

Background: Existing studies of dual use of electronic and combustible cigarettes either collected longitudinal data with long gaps in between waves or conducted ecological momentary assessment (EMA) over a short period of time. In recent years, the measurement burst design that embeds an EMA protocol in each wave assessment of a traditional longitudinal study has become more popular and yet conventional generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) have important limitations for handling data from this design.

Objectives: This study proposed a new statistical method to analyze data from the measurement burst design. Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Jan 31:1-9. Epub 2022 Jan 31.

Department of Biobehavioral Health, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.

Background: Substance use disorders (SUDs) and mental health disorders may change and co-occur in complex patterns across adult ages, but these processes can be difficult to capture with traditional statistical approaches.

Objective: To elucidate disorder prevalence and comorbidities across adult ages by using time-varying effect models (TVEMs), latent class analysis (LCA), and modeling latent class prevalences as complex functions of age.

Methods: Data were drawn from participants who are 18-65 years old in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions III (n = 30,999; 51% women) and a subsample who reported a past-year post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mood, anxiety, or SUD based on DSM-5 diagnoses (n = 11,279). Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Jan 31:1-9. Epub 2022 Jan 31.

Department of Clinical and Experimental Psychology, University of Huelva, Huelva, Spain.

Background: The conceptualization of substance use disorders (SUDs) was modified in successive editions of the DSM. Dimensionality and inclusion/exclusion of several criteria was studied using various analytic approaches.

Objective: The study aimed to deepen our knowledge of the interrelationships between the diagnostic criteria for cocaine use disorder (CUD), applying three different analytical techniques: factor analysis, Item Response Theory (IRT) models, and network analysis. Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Mar 31;48(2):158-164. Epub 2022 Jan 31.

Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.

: Stigma is described as highly relevant to the treatment context for opioid use disorder (OUD) partly because it is known to influence clinicians' treatment decisions and care provision. However, appropriate measures are needed to test the salience of stigmatizing views held by clinicians directly.: This study assessed dimensionality, reliability, and validity evidence for two measures - of public stigma toward opioid misuse and clinician stigma associated with medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD), respectively. Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Jan 31:1-10. Epub 2022 Jan 31.

College of Social Work, University of Utah Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development,Salt Lake City, UT, USA.

Background: Modeling addictive behavior among individuals with, or at risk for, opioid use disorder (OUD) in a way that is accurate, ethical, and reproducible presents a pressing concern. OUD risk is elevated among people with chronic pain on long-term opioid therapy (LTOT).

Objectives: To provide initial validation of a novel opioid preference task as an index of OUD and its symptomatology among veterans prescribed opioids for chronic pain, a population at high risk for poor opioid-related outcomes. Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Jan 25:1-9. Epub 2022 Jan 25.

Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety (IQuESt), Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX, USA.

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in the United States have increased in recent years, with the most rapid rise among people who inject drugs (PWIDs). Historically, there have been concerns regarding treatment adherence among PWIDs with HCV infection, leading to undertreatment of this population and increased HCV transmission. Elbasvir (EBR)/grazoprevir (GZR) has demonstrated high rates of virologic cure (sustained virologic response [SVR]) in clinical trials enrolling PWIDs with HCV infection. Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Jan 20;48(1):8-16. Epub 2022 Jan 20.

Department of Psychological, Health and Learning Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA.

Background: Cognitive interviewing is the practice of systematically collecting feedback about survey items from members of the priority population, with the goal of identifying and rectifying problems to increase the comprehensibility of the survey. Evidence is limited on the extent to which this method of pretesting improves survey items.

Objective: The current study examined the utility of incorporating cognitive interviewing to improve the Spanish translations of two measures of tobacco dependence. Read More

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2022 Jan 14:1-5. Epub 2022 Jan 14.

Division of Addiction Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.

The permissibility of buprenorphine in safety-sensitive positions is a controversial topic. As an opioid medication, concerns have arisen regarding the potential for impairment and any effects that this would have on an employee's ability to safely perform job duties. While there are no definitive guidelines on the use of buprenorphine for those employed in safety-sensitive lines of work, most employers do not permit its use under any circumstance due to the potential risk of harm to the public. Read More