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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April 2021
All‐cause and cause‐specific mortality among people with regular or problematic cocaine use: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
People with regular or problematic cocaine use have elevated mortality rates for traumatic deaths and deaths attributable to infectious disease.
Slow associative learning in alcohol dependence and the alcohol cue exposure treatment paradox
Abstinent alcohol‐dependent people may have slower extinction learning for alcohol‐related cues than non‐dependent light drinkers.
Gateway or common liability? A systematic review and meta‐analysis of studies of adolescent e‐cigarette use and future smoking initiation
There is a longitudinal association between adolescent vaping and smoking initiation but the evidence is limited by publication bias, high sample attrition and inadequate adjustment for potential confounders.
Young adult predictors of alcohol dependence to age 53: a 44‐year prospective cohort study of Danish men
Danish men whose drinking volume at 19–20 years old exceeds 21 beverages per week appear to be at risk of subsequent alcohol dependence.
Socio‐demographic differences in alcohol‐related work impairment
In Norway, the risk of alcohol‐related work impairment for employees in the highest education category is approximately twice that of employees with secondary education or less.
Understanding the differential effect of alcohol consumption on the relation between socio‐economic position and alcohol‐related health problems: results from the Stockholm Public Health Cohort
In Sweden, the greater adverse impact of alcohol consumption on health among people of lower socio‐economic position may be largely attributable to higher prevalence of heavy episodic drinking.
Changes in the incidence of assault after restrictions on late‐night alcohol sales in New Zealand: evaluation of a natural experiment using hospitalization and police data
The 2013 implementation of national maximum trading hours for alcohol in New Zealand was followed by reductions in two complementary indicators of alcohol‐related assault.
Dual‐trajectories of opioid and gabapentinoid use and risk of subsequent drug overdose among Medicare beneficiaries in the United States: a retrospective cohort study
Risk of drug overdose appears to vary substantially among US Medicare beneficiaries on different use trajectories of opioids and gabapentinoids.
Predictors of transitions across stages of alcohol use and disorders in an adult population with heterogeneous ethnic restrictions regarding drinking
The prevalence of lifetime alcohol use among adults in Nepal appears to be low, but the overall prevalence of disorders related to alcohol use is similar to other countries.
Postmortem toxicological analyses of blood samples from 107 patients receiving opioid agonist treatment: substances detected and pooled opioid and benzodiazepine concentrations
In Norway, overall opioid concentration seems to play an important role in drug‐induced deaths during opioid agonist treatment in patients prescribed methadone or buprenorphine.
Familial factors may not explain the effect of moderate‐to‐heavy cannabis use on cognitive functioning in adolescents: a sibling‐comparison study
Moderate adolescent cannabis use may have adverse effects on cognitive functioning, specifically verbal memory, that cannot be explained by familial factors.
Opioid overdose experiences in a sample of US adolescents and young adults: a thematic analysis
A sample of US adolescents and young adults in treatment for opioid use disorder expressed difficulty identifying whether or not they had experienced an overdose.
Social network predictors of recent and sustained injection drug use cessation: findings from a longitudinal cohort study
Among people with a history of injection drug use in Appalachian Kentucky, the odds of recent and sustained injection cessation increased with each additional social network member who did not inject drugs.
Frequency of use, moral incongruence and religiosity and their relationships with self‐perceived addiction to pornography, internet use, social networking and online gaming
Moral incongruence may be positively associated with self‐perception of behavioral addictions including not only pornography viewing but also internet use, social networking and online gaming.
Prevalence and correlates of simultaneous, multiple substance injection (co‐injection) among people who inject drugs in Melbourne, Australia
A substantial proportion of people who inject drugs report co‐injection of multiple substances, which is associated with a range of socio‐demographic, drug use and health service use risk factors.
Effect of varenicline directly observed therapy versus varenicline self‐administered therapy on varenicline adherence and smoking cessation in methadone‐maintained smokers: a randomized controlled trial
Among daily smokers attending opioid treatment programmes, varenicline directly-observed-therapy was associated with early increases in varenicline treatment adherence compared with self‐administered treatment.
Comparative effects of varenicline or combination nicotine replacement therapy versus patch monotherapy on candidate mediators of early abstinence in a smoking cessation attempt
Among adult smokers seeking to quit, the effect of varenicline on early abstinence seems to be mediated by suppression of craving and smoking expectancies pre‐cessation whereas combination NRT mediation seems to be through cessation‐related reduction in craving and smoking expectancies changes.
Association of frequency of perceived exposure to discrimination with tobacco withdrawal symptoms and smoking lapse behavior in African Americans
Frequency of perceived exposure to discrimination appears to be modestly associated with increased severity of some deprivation‐induced tobacco withdrawal symptoms in African American smokers.
Transitions in frequency of hookah smoking among youth and adults: findings from waves 1 and 2 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study, 2013–15
Appreciation of appealing flavours, perceived affordability and socialization while smoking hookah in the US are associated with reduced likelihood of cessation and increased likelihood of high‐frequency hookah smoking.
Culturally tailored evidence‐based substance use disorder treatments are efficacious with an American Indian Southwest tribe: an open‐label pilot‐feasibility randomized controlled trial
A randomized controlled trial of culturally tailored treatments for substance use disorder with American Indian and Alaska Native participants showed no sign of benefit compared with treatment as usual.