Substance Use Disorders
Outpatient Prescribing of Antibiotics and Opioids by Veterans Health Administration Providers, 2015–2017
Antibiotics and opioids are targeted by public health and stewardship communities for reductions in prescribing across the country. This study evaluates trends and factors associated with outpatient prescribing by dental and medical providers in a large integrated health system.Marijuana Use Among Women of Reproductive Age With Disabilities
Despite the increasing prevalence and potential adverse health outcomes associated with marijuana use, limited research exists related to its use in women of reproductive age with disabilities. The purpose of this study is to examine the past-month marijuana use in women of reproductive age with disabilities.Alcohol Policy Scores and Alcohol-Attributable Homicide Rates in 150 Countries
More comprehensive state-level alcohol policy environments are associated with lower alcohol-attributable homicide rates in the U.S., but few studies have explored this internationally. This study tests whether 3 national-level alcohol policy scores are associated with alcohol-attributable homicide rates.Robust Prescription Monitoring Programs and Abrupt Discontinuation of Long-term Opioid Use
This study assesses the associations between the recent implementation of robust features of state Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs and the abrupt discontinuation of long-term opioid therapies.Supervised Injection Facilities as Harm Reduction: A Systematic Review
Supervised injection facilities are harm reduction interventions that allow people who inject drugs to use previously obtained substances under the supervision of health professionals. Although currently considered illegal under U.S. federal law, several U.S. cities are considering implementing supervised injection facilities anyway as a response to the escalating overdose crisis. The objective of this review is to determine the effectiveness of supervised injection facilities, compared with that of control conditions, for harm reduction and community outcomes.Cascade of Hepatitis C Virus Care Among Patients With Substance Use Disorders
Hepatitis C virus testing is recommended for people at high risk for infection, including those with substance use disorders. Little is known about the cascade of hepatitis C virus care (including testing, diagnosis, and treatments) among patients with substance use disorders in real-world clinical practice. This study aims to characterize the hepatitis C virus cascade of care and identify the factors associated with hepatitis C virus testing and diagnosis among Florida Medicaid beneficiaries with substance use disorders.Cannabis and Prescription Drug Use Among Older Adults With Functional Impairment
Psychoactive substance use may be risky for adults with functional impairments. This study investigates cannabis use and prescription opioid and tranquilizer/sedative (mis)use among adults aged ≥50 years reporting functional impairments in the U.S.Association Between Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder and Mortality Risk
Veterans with opioid use disorder have an increased risk of suicide and overdose compared with the general population. Buprenorphine, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved medication to treat opioid use disorder, has shown benefits, including decreased risk of illicit drug use and overdose. This study assesses the mortality outcomes with buprenorphine pharmacotherapy among Veterans up to 5 years from treatment initiation.The Melbourne Safe Injecting Room Attracted People Most in Need of Its Service
In 2018, the first Medically Supervised Injecting Room in Melbourne, Australia was officially opened. This study assessed whether this facility attracted people who inject drugs, who were socially vulnerable, and who engaged in drug-related behaviors associated with increased morbidity and mortality risk.Developmental Comorbidity of Substance Use and Handgun Carrying Among U.S. Youth
This study identifies the longitudinal trajectories of multiple forms of substance use and handgun carrying and examines their comorbidity over time.Past-Year Kratom Use in the U.S.: Estimates From a Nationally Representative Sample
Kratom is a plant with partial opioid agonist effects, and its use has become popular to ameliorate symptoms of opioid withdrawal. However, use has been linked to thousands of poisonings, although most have involved use of other drugs. Little is known regarding prevalence and correlates of use in the general U.S. population.Dental Opioid Prescriptions and Overdose Risk in Patients and Their Families
It is unknown whether dental opioid prescriptions are associated with opioid overdose in patients or their family members, who may have access to patients’ opioids.Trends in Opioid Use Disorder Among Older Adults: Analyzing Medicare Data, 2013–2018
Opioid use disorder has grown rapidly over the years and is a public health crisis in the U.S. Although opioid use disorder is widely studied, relatively little is known about it among older adults. The goal of this study is to gain a better understanding of opioid use disorder among older Medicare beneficiaries over time and across several sociodemographic dimensions.Comparison of Dental Benzodiazepine Prescriptions From the U.S., England, and Australia From 2013 to 2018
Benzodiazepines contribute to substance use disorder and are often part of polydrug abuse, most frequently with opioids. Although dental opioid prescribing differs significantly between countries, little is known about the patterns of dental benzodiazepine prescribing. The aim of this study is to compare dental prescribing of benzodiazepines among the U.S., England, and Australia in 2013–2018.Characteristics Associated With Opioid and Antibiotic Prescribing by Dentists
The objective of this study is to identify county-level characteristics that may be high-impact targets for opioid and antibiotic interventions to improve dental prescribing.Dental Opioid Prescription Characteristics and the Risk of New, Persistent Use
Dentists are a common source of opioid exposure. This study investigates the association between initial dental opioid prescription characteristics and subsequent persistent use and examines the rate of opioid overdose after initiation.Prevalence and Correlates of Driving Under the Influence of Cannabis in the U.S.
As cannabis use rises among adults in the U.S., driving under the influence of cannabis represents a public health concern.Horizons and Group Motivational Enhancement Therapy: HIV Prevention for Alcohol-Using Young Black Women, a Randomized Experiment
Black women are at disproportionately greater risk for HIV and sexually transmitted infections than women of other ethnic/racial backgrounds. Alcohol use may further elevate the risk of HIV/sexually transmitted infection acquisition and transmission.Current U.S. State Cannabis Sales Limits Allow Large Doses for Use or Diversion
Legal limits on the amount of cannabis sold per transaction in states with recreational cannabis may promote moderate use and limit diversion. However, state sales limits are heterogeneous and difficult to interpret in terms of tetrahydrocannabinol dose equivalents.Binge Drinking, Other Substance Use, and Concurrent Use in the U.S., 2016–2018
The use of multiple substances heightens the risk of overdose. Multiple substances, including alcohol, are commonly found among people who experience overdose-related mortality. However, the associations between alcohol use and the use of a range of other substances are often not assessed. Therefore, this study examines the associations between drinking patterns (e.g., binge drinking) and other substance use in the U.S., the concurrent use of alcohol and prescription drug misuse, and how other substance use varies by binge-drinking frequency.Addiction Medicine After COVID-19: The Imperative of a Trained Workforce
Amid the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, substance use disorder (SUD) remains a pressing issue in the U.S. According to the latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the number of Americans afflicted with SUD exceeds 20 million, an estimated 2 million of whom are coping with an opioid use disorder (OUD).1 The efficacy of evidence-based opioid agonist therapy with methadone or buprenorphine notwithstanding, the vast majority of Americans living with OUD do not receive any treatment.Trajectories of Retention in Opioid Agonist Therapy and Overdose Risk During a Community-Wide Overdose Epidemic in a Canadian Setting
Retention in opioid agonist therapy consistently has been linked with improved outcomes among people with opioid use disorder. However, less is known about the links between patterns of engagement in opioid agonist therapy over the long term and overdose risk. This study assesses the association of opioid agonist therapy retention trajectories with nonfatal overdose.Past 30–Day Marijuana Vaping: Prevalence and Predictors of Use in a Nationally Representative Study of U.S. Youth
Vaping has become an increasingly common mode of administration for marijuana among youth, but there are limited data on its prevalence. There is a need to better understand youth prevalence of past 30–day marijuana vaping and its predictors.State Medical Board Policy and Opioid Prescribing: A Controlled Interrupted Time Series
In March 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued opioid prescribing guidelines for chronic noncancer pain. In response, in April 2016, the North Carolina Medical Board launched the Safe Opioid Prescribing Initiative, an investigative program intended to limit the overprescribing of opioids. This study focuses on the association of the Safe Opioid Prescribing Initiative with immediate and sustained changes in opioid prescribing among all patients who received opioid and opioid discontinuation and tapering among patients who received high-dose (>90 milligrams of morphine equivalents), long-term (>90 days) opioid therapy.
