Key Findings
This is a quick summary of the main discovery for each research paper we have published, organized issue by issue. Each key finding is below the article title, with a link to the abstract.
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September 2019
Accuracy of five self‐report screening instruments for substance use in pregnancy
Five screening instruments for substance use in pregnancy (SURP‐P, CRAFFT, 5Ps, WIDUS, and NIDA Quick Screen) fail to show both high sensitivity and high specificity.
Transferring 24/7 sobriety from South Dakota to South London: the case of MOPAC's Alcohol Abstinence Monitoring Requirement Pilot
The London Alcohol Abstinence Monitoring Requirement Pilot was a policy ‘synthesis’ combining elements of the South Dakota model with the existing English and Welsh criminal justice framework.
Cost‐effectiveness of electronic‐ and clinician‐delivered screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment for women in reproductive health centers
An electronically delivered brief intervention to help women in reproductive health centers to reduce substance misuse appears to be cost‐effective by conventional benchmarks.
Alcohol use disorders and the heart
Although people with cardiovascular disease show improved outcomes with low‐volume alcohol consumption, there is no safe amount to drink and patients with alcoholic cardiomyopathy should aim for abstinence.
Effectiveness of switching to very low nicotine content cigarettes plus nicotine patch versus reducing daily cigarette consumption plus nicotine patch to decrease dependence: an exploratory randomized trial
An intervention involving transition to very low nicotine cigarettes combined with nicotine patch reduced scores on a measure of nicotine dependence over a 4‐week period more than a comparator that involved reducing cigarettes per day combined with nicotine patch.
Saliva cotinine concentrations in pregnant women who smoke and use nicotine patches
Pregnant women who try and fail to stop smoking with nicotine patches smoke fewer cigarettes and have lower expired-air carbon monoxide concentrations than before their quit attempt.
Moderators of real‐world effectiveness of smoking cessation aids: a population study
People using e-cigarettes in quit attempts are about 95% more likely still not to be smoking in the short to medium term than those trying to quit without using a stop-smoking aid.
Cannabis use as a risk factor for causing motor vehicle crashes: a prospective study
Blood tetrahydocannabinol (THC) concentrations of up to 5ng/ml have not been clearly associated with an increased risk of non-fatal injury-involved motor vehicle crashes British Columbia, Canada.
Medical marijuana laws are associated with increases in substance use treatment admissions by pregnant women
US medical marijuana laws appear to increase substance use treatment admissions by pregnant women.
Modelling the combined impact of interventions in averting deaths during a synthetic‐opioid overdose epidemic
Take‐home naloxone kits combined with overdose prevention/supervised consumption sites and opioid agonist therapy appears to have prevented some opioid overdose deaths during British Columbia's crisis of opioid deaths but has not reduced the absolute numbers of such deaths.
Using wastewater‐based analysis to monitor the effects of legalized retail sales on cannabis consumption in Washington State, USA
Based on public wastewater analysis, cannabis use in Washington, USA has both increased and substantially shifted from the illicit market since retail sales began in 2014.
Do electronic health record prompts increase take‐home naloxone administration for emergency department patients after an opioid overdose?
Electronic health record prompts that remind emergency department doctors they can prescribe take-home naloxone (THN) to patients discharged after opioid overdose are associated with higher rates of THN distribution.
The impact of expanded Medicaid eligibility on access to naloxone
In the US, Medicaid accounts for approximately a quarter of naloxone sales. Medicaid expansion generated 8.3% of the growth in naloxone prescribing from 2009 to 2016.
Alcohol‐induced blackouts at age 20 predict the incidence, maintenance and severity of alcohol dependence at age 25: a prospective study in a sample of young Swiss men
Among Swiss men, alcohol‐induced blackout at age 20 predicts the development, maintenance and severity of alcohol dependence at age 25.
A meta‐analysis of the efficacy of gabapentin for treating alcohol use disorder
The only measure for which there is good evidence of a benefit of gabapentin on alcohol use disorder is percentage of heavy drinking days.
The relationship between parental attitudes and children's alcohol use: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Lenient attitudes on the part of parents towards drinking appears to be linked to greater alcohol use among their children.