Lifetime prevalence of novel psychoactive substances use among adults in the USA: Sociodemographic, mental health and illicit drug use correlates. Evidence from a population-based survey 2007–2014

ABSTRACTBackground:Despite growing numbers of older-adult illicit drug users, research on this topic is rare. This study examined the relationship between marijuana and/or other illicit drug use and major depressive episode (MDE) and serious suicidal thoughts among those aged 50+ years in the USA.Methods:The public use files of the 2008 to 2012 US National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) provided data on 29,634 individuals aged 50+ years. Logistic regression analysis was used to test hypothesized associations between past-year marijuana and/or other illicit drug use and MDE and serious suicidal thoughts.Results:Nearly 6% of the 50+ years age group reported past-year marijuana and/or other illicit drug use. Compared to non-users of any illicit drug, the odds of past-year MDE among those who used marijuana only, other illicit drugs only, and marijuana and other illicit drugs were 1.54 (95% CI = 1.17–2.03), 2.75 (95% CI = 1.75–4.33), and 2.12 (95% CI = 1.45–3.09), respectively. Those who used marijuana and other drugs also had higher odds (2.44, 95% CI = 1.58–3.77) of suicidal thoughts than non-users of any illicit drug. However, among users of any illicit drug, no difference was found among users of marijuana only, marijuana and other illicit drugs, and other illicit drugs only. Among marijuana users, marijuana use frequency was a significant correlate of suicidal thoughts only among those with MDE.Conclusions:Health and mental health (MH) service providers should pay close attention to the potential reciprocal effects of marijuana and other illicit drug use and MDE and suicidal thoughts among late middle-aged and older adults.

Download Full-text

Unmet Mental Health Care Needs and Illicit Drug Use During Pregnancy

Journal of Addiction Medicine ◽

10.1097/adm.0000000000000752 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol Publish Ahead of Print ◽

Author(s):

Lyndsie R. Pfeifer ◽

Zelalem T. Haile

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Care ◽

Drug Use ◽

Mental Health Care ◽

Illicit Drug ◽

Illicit Drug Use ◽

Health Care Needs ◽

Care Needs ◽

Unmet Mental Health

Download Full-text

Epidemiology of illicit drug use disorders in Iran: prevalence, correlates, comorbidity and service utilization results from the Iranian Mental Health Survey

Addiction ◽

10.1111/add.13453 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 111 (10) ◽

pp. 1836-1847 ◽

Cited By ~ 77

Author(s):

Masoumeh Amin-Esmaeili ◽

Afarin Rahimi-Movaghar ◽

Vandad Sharifi ◽

Ahmad Hajebi ◽

Reza Radgoodarzi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Drug Use ◽

Service Utilization ◽

Health Survey ◽

Illicit Drug ◽

Illicit Drug Use ◽

Drug Use Disorders ◽

Mental Health Survey

Download Full-text

An ad hoc method for dual adjusting for measurement errors and nonresponse bias for estimating prevalence in survey data: Application to Iranian mental health survey on any illicit drug use

Statistical Methods in Medical Research ◽

10.1177/0962280217690939 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 27 (10) ◽

pp. 3062-3076 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kazem Khalagi ◽

Mohammad Ali Mansournia ◽

Seyed-Abbas Motevalian ◽

Keramat Nourijelyani ◽

Afarin Rahimi-Movaghar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Drug Use ◽

Measurement Errors ◽

Latent Class ◽

Illicit Drug ◽

Illicit Drug Use ◽

Nonresponse Bias ◽

Missing Not At Random ◽

Mental Health Survey ◽

Log Linear

Purpose The prevalence estimates of binary variables in sample surveys are often subject to two systematic errors: measurement error and nonresponse bias. A multiple-bias analysis is essential to adjust for both biases. Methods In this paper, we linked the latent class log-linear and proxy pattern-mixture models to adjust jointly for measurement errors and nonresponse bias with missing not at random mechanism. These methods were employed to estimate the prevalence of any illicit drug use based on Iranian Mental Health Survey data. Results After jointly adjusting for measurement errors and nonresponse bias in this data, the prevalence (95% confidence interval) estimate of any illicit drug use changed from 3.41 (3.00, 3.81)% to 27.03 (9.02, 38.76)%, 27.42 (9.04, 38.91)%, and 27.18 (9.03, 38.82)% under “missing at random,” “missing not at random,” and an intermediate mode, respectively. Conclusions Under certain assumptions, a combination of the latent class log-linear and binary-outcome proxy pattern-mixture models can be used to jointly adjust for both measurement errors and nonresponse bias in the prevalence estimation of binary variables in surveys.

Download Full-text

Prevalence of alcohol abuse and associated factors in a population-based study

Revista de Saúde Pública ◽

10.1590/s0034-89102006005000032 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 41 (4) ◽

pp. 502-509 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

Marilisa Berti de Azevedo Barros ◽

Neury José Botega ◽

Paulo Dalgalarrondo ◽

Letícia Marín-León ◽

Helenice Bosco de Oliveira

Keyword(s):

Drug Use ◽

Alcohol Abuse ◽

Associated Factors ◽

Illicit Drug ◽

Household Survey ◽

Illicit Drug Use ◽

Population Based ◽

Self Report ◽

Southeastern Brazil ◽

Odds Ratios

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of alcohol abuse/dependence and identify associated factors among demographic, family, socioeconomic and mental health variables. METHODS: A household survey was carried out in the urban area of Campinas, southeastern Brazil, in 2003. A total of 515 subjects, aged 14 years or more were randomly selected using a stratified cluster sample. The Self-Report Questionnaire and the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test were used in the interview. Prevalences were calculated, and univariate and multivariate logistic analyses performed by estimating odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: The estimated prevalence of alcohol abuse/dependence was 13.1% (95% CI: 8.4;19.9) in men and 4.1% (95% CI: 1.9;8.6) in women. In the final multiple logistic regression model, alcohol abuse/dependence was significantly associated with age, income, schooling, religion and illicit drug use. The adjusted odds ratios were significantly higher in following variables: income between 2,501 and 10,000 dollars (OR=10.29); income above 10,000 dollars (OR=10.20); less than 12 years of schooling (OR=13.42); no religion (OR=9.16) or religion other than Evangelical (OR=4.77); and illicit drug use during lifetime (OR=4.47). Alcohol abuse and dependence patterns were different according to age group. CONCLUSIONS: There is a significantly high prevalence of alcohol abuse/dependence in this population. The knowledge of factors associated with alcohol abuse, and differences in consumption patterns should be taken into account in the development of harm reduction strategies.

Download Full-text

“Doing Gender”—“Doing Drugs”: Conceptualizing the Gendering of Drugs Cultures

Contemporary Drug Problems ◽

10.1177/009145090202900206 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 29 (2) ◽

pp. 335-373 ◽

Cited By ~ 180

Author(s):

Fiona Measham

Keyword(s):

Drug Use ◽

Cultural Context ◽

Illicit Drug ◽

Illicit Drug Use ◽

Lifetime Prevalence ◽

Doing Gender ◽

The Uk ◽

And Behavior ◽

Attitudes And Behavior ◽

Developed World

Women's illicit drug use has been increasing rapidly in the 1990s in the UK and elsewhere in the developed world. Lifetime prevalence rates show that gender is no longer a significant predictor of, or protector from, illicit drug use. The concentration on lifetime prevalence in the academic debate, however, has been to the detriment of the wider cultural context of drug-related attitudes and behavior in drug-using groups and wider society. This paper considers the socio-cultural context of gender and drug use, and reasserts the central importance of gender to our understanding of drugs cultures. Drug use is not just mediated by gender, but, far more significantly, drug use and the associated leisure, music and style cultures within which drug use is located are themselves ways of accomplishing a gendered identity. Building on Messerschmidt's concept of crime as structured action, the author suggests that gender does not just influence “doing drugs”–drug use itself can be seen as a way of “doing gender.”

Download Full-text

METHODOLOGIC DIRECTIONS IN CRIMINALISTIC RESEARCH FOR THE OFFENCE OF TRAFFICKING AND ILLICIT DRUG CONSUMPTION

Agora International Journal of Juridical Sciences ◽

10.15837/aijjs.v13i2.3800 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 49-54

Author(s):

Petronela-Diana Ferariu ◽

Valentina Avrămescu

Keyword(s):

Drug Use ◽

Illicit Drug ◽

Health And Safety ◽

Criminal Activity ◽

Illicit Drug Use ◽

New Psychoactive Substances ◽

Psychoactive Substances ◽

Research Activity ◽

Rapid Pace ◽

Illicit Trafficking

The criminal activity of trafficking and illicit drug use is developing rapidly, new psychoactive substances are emerging at a rapid pace and represent a major threat to the health and safety of individuals. The actual crime in the case of trafficking and illicit drug use offence must be determined in terms of size the participants and causes. The distinction between real crime and apparent crime is defined as the "dark number or hidden figure of crime" (Rădulescu S., 1999, 189) The use of this concept is specifically used in the case of the number of crimes committed and remained unknown to the society, for various reasons. In the forensic investigation of the crime of trafficking and illicit drug use, the research activity is carried out with great difficulties, because one of the forms of crime with the highest rate of the dark number of crime and almost impossible to estimate is the illicit trafficking and consumption of drugs, as victims are most often accomplice in this form of crime, and establishing the diversity of substances that fall into the narcotic sphere is relative.

Download Full-text

Association of illicit drug use in adolescence with socioeconomic and criminal justice outcomes in adulthood: prospective findings from a UK national birth cohort

Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health ◽

10.1136/jech-2019-213282 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. jech-2019-213282

Author(s):

James White ◽

Steven Bell ◽

G David Batty

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Criminal Justice ◽

Drug Use ◽

Birth Cohort ◽

Illicit Drug ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Adult Life ◽

Illicit Drug Use ◽

Birth Cohort Study ◽

The Past

BackgroundIllicit drug use in adolescence has been linked to drug use and poor mental health in adult life, but few studies have examined the relation between adult economic and criminal justice outcomes.MethodsWe analysed data from 14 082 participants (6999 women) in the 1970 British Birth Cohort Study. Illicit drug use over study members’ lifetime and in the past year were self-reported at 16 years of age. Thirteen outcomes were self-reported at 30 years of age, including illicit drug use, smoking, problems with alcohol, mental and physical health, experience of socioeconomic disadvantage and experiences with the criminal justice system.ResultsAt 16 years of age, 20.3% of the participants had ever tried an illicit drug and 7.2% had used in the past year. After adjustment for childhood socioeconomic status and mental health problems, and following correction for multiple testing, there was a dose–response association between illicit drug use at 16 years with illicit drug use in adult life in the past year (OR; 95% CI – 1.83, 1.51 to 3.12), experiencing homelessness (1.74, 1.16 to 2.62), being arrested (1.57, 1.29 to 1.92) and cautioned (1.97, 1.50 to 2.57) by the police, and being found guilty at court (1.73, 1.34 to 2.23).ConclusionsAdolescent drug use was associated with an array of social and criminal outcomes in later life.

Download Full-text

Testing for illicit drug use in mental health services

Advances in Psychiatric Treatment ◽

10.1192/apt.bp.108.005835 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 16 (5) ◽

pp. 369-379 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Abu Abraham ◽

Jason Luty

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Drug Use ◽

Child Protection ◽

Sports Medicine ◽

Illicit Drug ◽

False Negative ◽

Illicit Drug Use ◽

Mental Illnesses ◽

Sample Collection ◽

Legal Cases

SummaryTesting for illicit drug use is used in pre-employment checks, the criminal justice system, sports medicine and for screening and confirmatory purposes in patients with physical and mental illnesses. The types of drugs tested for and the methods used vary depending on the indication. This article focuses primarily on blood, urine and oral fluids, which are specimens more commonly used in mental health settings, although hair and sweat are increasingly used in medico-legal cases and in child protection issues. The main drugs and their metabolism are discussed to gain a better understanding of the methods used and for accurate interpretation. Methods to ensure validity during sample collection are explored. False-positive and false-negative tests are common and possible confounders are discussed.

Download Full-text