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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March 2022
Drug checking services for people who use drugs: a systematic review
Drug checking services appear to influence behavioural intentions and behaviour of people who use drugs.
Does heroin-assisted treatment reduce crime? A review of randomized-controlled trials
Heroin-assisted-treatment appears to reduce criminal activity but trials vary in whether effects exceed those from oral methadone treatment.
Associations between financial gambling motives, gambling frequency and level of problem gambling: a meta-analytic review
Financial gambling motives are positively associated with both gambling frequency and level of problem gambling
Efficacy of brief intervention for harmful and hazardous alcohol use: a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies from low middle-income countries
Brief interventions for alcohol use show some promise in LAMI countries.
Cognitive style and drinking to cope: A prospective cohort study
In young adults, there may be a positive association between negative cognitive style and subsequent drinking to cope.
Al-Anon Intensive Referral to facilitate concerned others’ participation in Al-Anon Family Groups: a randomized controlled trial
Al-Anon Intensive Referral is associated with more relationship resources for the concerned other, such as having calm discussions and showing/receiving consideration, interest, and cooperation.
Concurrent validity of an estimator of weekly alcohol consumption (EWAC) based on the extended AUDIT
A new estimator of weekly alcohol consumption offers a reliable complement to the Extended AUDIT-C for health promotion interventions.
Reducing problematic alcohol use in employees: economic evaluation of guided and unguided web-based interventions alongside a three-arm randomized controlled trial
A guided internet-based intervention to reduce problematic alcohol consumption in employees is cost-beneficial and cost-effective.
Genome-wide analysis reveals genetic overlap between alcohol use behaviours, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and identifies novel shared risk loci
There appears to be a polygenic overlap between alcohol use behaviours, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder.
Pharmaceutical opioid poisonings in Victoria, Australia: Rates and characteristics of a decade of emergency department presentations among nine pharmaceutical opioids
In Victoria, Australia, emergency department presentations for pharmaceutical opioids vary by opioid type.
Mortality among people who inject drugs: a prospective cohort followed over three decades in Baltimore, MD, USA
HIV/ID deaths in Baltimore, Maryland, USA may have declined following widespread use of combination antiretroviral therapy.
Association between dynamic dose increases of buprenorphine for treatment of opioid use disorder and risk of relapse
Increasing buprenorphine-naloxone dose in response to opioid use during the first 12 weeks of treatment appears to reduce risk of later relapse.
Increase in recreational drug use between 2008 and 2018: results from a prospective cohort study among HIV-negative men who have sex with men
In Amsterdam from 2008 to 2018 sexualized drug use among men having sex with men increased and was strongly associated with condomless anal sex, HIV and STIs.
A prospective cohort study evaluating the impact of upscheduling codeine in Australia among frequent users of codeine
Rescheduling codeine in Australia has been accompanied by reduced codeine use and prevalence of OUD among regular OTC codeine users.
Do naloxone access laws affect perceived risk of heroin use? Evidence from national US data
Implementation of naloxone access laws has not adversely affected perceptions of risk of heroin in the US population.
Predicting disordered gambling across adolescence and young adulthood from polygenic contributions to Big 5 personality traits in a UK birth cohort
Polygenic contributions to low agreeableness and high neuroticism may predict disordered gambling.
Harm perceptions of nicotine-containing products and associated sources of information in UK adults with and without mental ill health: A cross-sectional survey
Smoking/vaping adults with mental ill health have less accurate harm perceptions of nicotine and nicotine products than those with no/low distress.
Evidence for a hijacked brain reward system but no desensitized threat system in quitting-motivated smokers: An fMRI study
Moderate smokers with tobacco use disorder appear to have altered brain reward processing compared with never smokers.
A longitudinal analysis of smoke-free laws and smoking initiation disparities among young adults in the United States
Exposure to smoke-free laws at age 18 may be associated with reduced daily smoking initiation 1-6 years later.
Using Mendelian randomization to explore the gateway hypothesis: possible causal effects of smoking initiation and alcohol consumption on substance use outcomes
Mendelian Randomisation provides evidence for the gateway hypothesis regarding smoking initiation and increased alcohol consumption, cannabis use and cannabis dependence.
Efficacy and utilization of an acceptance and commitment therapy-based smartphone application for smoking cessation among Black adults: secondary analysis of the iCanQuit randomized trial
Among Black adults, an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy-based smartphone application for smoking cessation was more effective than the QuitGuide application.
Comparison of saliva cotinine and exhaled carbon monoxide concentrations when smoking and after being offered dual nicotine replacement therapy in pregnancy
Pregnant women who smoke and are offered dual NRT report smoking fewer cigarettes, validated by reductions in exhaled carbon monoxide concentrations.
Moderators of changes in smoking, drinking and quitting behaviour associated with the first COVID-19 lockdown in England
England's Covid-19 lockdown was associated with increased smoking prevalence among younger adults and increased high-risk drinking prevalence among all adults.
Cross-national validation of the social media disorder scale: findings from adolescents from 44 countries
The Social Media Disorder scale can measure and compare problematic social media use among young adolescents across many national contexts.
Support for Aboriginal health services in reducing harms from alcohol: 2-year service provision outcomes in a cluster randomized trial
An early support model to aid routine implementation of alcohol screening and treatment in Aboriginal health services improved AUDIT-C screening rates over 24 months.