Research News Roundup: August 15, 2024

Journal: JAMA Network Open, 2024, doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.27241

Authors: Sachini Bandara, Lauren Byrne, Vanessa Berman, Adrienne Hurst, Dionna King, Jason B. Gibbons, … Brendan Saloner

Abstract:

Importance: Rates of overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids remain high, increasingly involve stimulants combined with opioids, and are increasing rapidly in racially and ethnically minoritized communities, yet little is known about access to harm reduction and treatment services in these groups.

Objective: To characterize access and barriers to harm reduction and treatment in a racially and ethnically diverse population of people who use drugs.

Design, setting, and participants: A cross-sectional telephone survey of people recruited from 39 treatment, harm reduction, and social service organizations in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin; Flint and Detroit, Michigan; and statewide in New Jersey was conducted from January 30 to July 28, 2023. Adults who used cocaine, methamphetamine, or opioids in the past 30 days called a study hotline and completed an interview in English or Spanish.

Exposures: Overdose experience, drug types used (opioids only, stimulants only, and polysubstance), and social risk factors (eg, financial instability and criminal legal involvement).

Main outcomes and measures: Recent use of any harm reduction services, fentanyl test strips, naloxone possession, treatment, and self-reported barriers to services.

Results: Of the total sample of 1240 adults, 486 (39.2%) were Black non-Hispanic, 183 (14.8%) were Hispanic, and 464 (37.4%) were White non-Hispanic. In the past 30 days, 826 individuals (66.6%) were polysubstance users, 135 (10.9%) used only opioids, and 279 (22.5%) used only stimulants. A total of 349 respondents (28.1%) experienced a prior-year overdose. Compared with those without a prior-year overdose, people with overdose were more likely to possess naloxone (80.7% vs 68.2%; P < .001), possess fentanyl test strips (36.8% vs 23.5%; P < .001), and use harm reduction services (63.4% vs 53.0%; P = .003), while differences in treatment use were nonsignificant (52.0% vs 46.6%; P = .24). Among stimulant-only users, 51.4% possessed naloxone compared with 77.3% of opioid-only users (P < .001) and 77.6% of polysubstance users (P < .001), with similar disparities in fentanyl test strip possession.

Conclusions and relevance: In this cross-sectional study of people who used drugs in the past 30 days, findings highlighted low use of harm reduction and treatment services among people who use stimulants. Additional communication regarding their importance may help increase the use of the services amidst a rapidly changing drug supply.

To read the full text of the article, please visit the publisher’s website.

Journal: Addictive Behaviors, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2024.108090

Authors: Julia Chen-Sankey, Kathryn La Capria, Allison Glasser, Alisa A. Padon, Meghan B. Moran, Kimberly G. Wagoner, Kristina M. Jackson, & Carla J. Berg

Abstract:

Introduction: Little is known about the influence of e-cigarette marketing on cannabis vaping behaviors. This study examined the associations between e-cigarette marketing exposure and nicotine and cannabis vaping among adults.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included a U.S. nationally representative sample of adults from the Wave 6 survey of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study. We used multinomial logistic regressions to examine the associations between past 30-day e-cigarette marketing exposure and past 30-day vaping behavior (sole- and dual-vaping of nicotine and cannabis) overall and stratified by age.

Results: Overall, 52.0 % of respondents reported e-cigarette marketing exposure, and 89.8 %, 5.6 %, 3.2 %, and 1.4 % reported no vaping, sole-nicotine vaping, sole-cannabis vaping, and dual-vaping, respectively. E-cigarette marketing exposure was associated with increased odds of reporting sole-cannabis vaping versus no vaping (adjusted risk ratio [aRR], 1.31; 95 % confidence interval [CI], 1.09–1.57) and dual-vaping versus no vaping (aRR, 1.26; 95 % CI, 1.01–1.57). This association was found among those aged 18–24 and 25–34 years. It was also associated with increased odds of reporting sole-cannabis vaping versus sole-nicotine vaping (aRR, 1.28; 95 % CI, 1.04–1.58). This association was found among those aged 18–24 years.

Discussion: E-cigarette marketing exposure was associated with sole-cannabis vaping and dual-vaping, not sole-nicotine vaping among U.S. adults. Such associations were mainly driven by young adults aged 18–24 and 25–34 years. Greater restrictions on tobacco marketing may have reduced the influence of e-cigarette marketing on nicotine vaping, while gaps in marketing restrictions for cannabis may contribute to e-cigarette marketing influence on cannabis vaping.

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Journal: Quality of Life Research, 2024, doi: 10.1007/s11136-024-03729-6

Authors: Thomas Patton, Jan R. Boehnke, Ravi Goyal, Andrea Manca, Carla Marienfeld, Natasha K. Martin, Bohdan Nosyk, & Annick Borquez

Abstract:

Purpose: We aimed to estimate health state utility values (HSUVs) for the key health states found in opioid use disorder (OUD) cost-effectiveness models in the published literature.

Methods: Data obtained from six trials representing 1,777 individuals with OUD. We implemented mapping algorithms to harmonize data from different measures of quality of life (the SF-12 Versions 1 and 2 and the EQ-5D-3 L). We performed a regression analysis to quantify the relationship between HSUVs and the following variables: days of extra-medical opioid use in the past 30 days, injecting behaviors, treatment with medications for OUD, HIV status, and age. A secondary analysis explored the impact of opioid withdrawal symptoms.

Results: There were statistically significant reductions in HSUVs associated with extra-medical opioid use (-0.002 (95% CI [-0.003,-0.0001]) to -0.003 (95% CI [-0.005,-0.002]) per additional day of heroin or other opiate use, respectively), drug injecting compared to not injecting (-0.043 (95% CI [-0.079,-0.006])), HIV-positive diagnosis compared to no diagnosis (-0.074 (95% CI [-0.143,-0.005])), and age (-0.001 per year (95% CI [-0.003,-0.0002])). Parameters associated with medications for OUD treatment were not statistically significant after controlling for extra-medical opioid use (0.0131 (95% CI [-0.0479,0.0769])), in line with prior studies. The secondary analysis revealed that withdrawal symptoms are a fundamental driver of HSUVs, with predictions of 0.817 (95% CI [0.768, 0.858]), 0.705 (95% CI [0.607, 0.786]), and 0.367 (95% CI [0.180, 0.575]) for moderate, severe, and worst level of symptoms, respectively.

Conclusion: We observed HSUVs for OUD that were higher than those from previous studies that had been conducted without input from people living with the condition.

To read the full text of the article, please visit the publisher’s website.

Journal: BMC Public Health, 2024, doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-19582-8

Authors: Luis Zavala-Arciniega, Steven Cook, Jana L. Hirschtick, Yanmei Xie, Richa Mukerjee, Douglas Arenberg, Geoffrey D. Barnes, David T. Levy, Rafael Meza, & Nancy L. Fleischer

Abstract:

Background: The health consequences of polytobacco use are not well understood. We evaluated prospective associations between exclusive, dual, and polytobacco use and diagnosed bronchitis, pneumonia, or chronic cough among US youth.

Methods: Data came from Waves 1-5 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study. We categorized time-varying past 30-day tobacco use into seven categories: (1) non-current use; exclusive use of 2) cigarettes, 3) e-cigarettes, and 4) other combustible products (OC; pipes, hookah, and cigars); dual use of 5) e-cigarettes + cigarettes or e-cigarettes + OC, and 6) cigarettes + OC; and 7) polyuse of all three products. The outcome was parent-reported diagnosis of bronchitis, pneumonia, or chronic cough among youth. We conducted weighted multilevel Poisson models (person n = 17,517, 43,290 observations) to examine the longitudinal exposure-outcome relationship, adjusting for covariates: sex, age, race and ethnicity, parental education, body mass index, secondhand smoke exposure, and household use of combustible products.

Results: Compared to nonuse, exclusive cigarette use (Risk Ratio (RR) = 1.83, 95% CI 1.25-2.68), exclusive e-cigarette use (RR = 1.53, 95% CI 1.08-2.15), combustible product + e-cigarette dual use (RR = 1.90, 95% CI 1.18-3.04), cigarettes + OC dual use (RR = 1.96, 95% CI 1.11-3.48), and polytobacco use (RR = 3.06 95% CI 1.67-5.63) were associated with a higher risk of bronchitis, pneumonia, or chronic cough. In additional analyses, we found that the risk ratio for polytobacco use was higher compared to exclusive e-cigarette use (RR 2.01 CI 95% 1.02-3.95), but not higher compared to exclusive cigarette use (RR 1.67 CI 95% 0.85-3.28).

Conclusion: We found that exclusive, dual, and poly tobacco use were all associated with higher risk of bronchitis, pneumonia, or chronic cough compared to non-current use.

To read the full text of the article, please visit the publisher’s website.