Reliability and Validity of the Severity of Dependence Scale for Detecting Cannabis Dependence in Frequent Cannabis Users.
Reliability and validity of the Severity of Dependence Scale for detecting cannabis dependence in frequent cannabis users.
Int J Methods Psychiatr Res. 2013 May 14;
van der Pol P, Liebregts N, de Graaf R, Korf DJ, van den Brink W, van Laar M
The Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS) measures with five items the degree of psychological dependence on several illicit drugs, including cannabis. Its psychometric properties have not yet been examined in young adult frequent cannabis users, an eminently high-risk group for cannabis dependence. Internal consistency and criterion validity of the SDS were investigated within an enriched community based sample of 577 Dutch frequent (? three days per week in the past 12 months) cannabis users between 18-30 years. Criterion validity was tested against the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) 3.0 DSM-IV diagnosis cannabis dependence, and psychometric properties were assessed separately for males and females and for ethnic subgroups. Principal component analysis showed that all items of the scale loaded on a single factor and reliability of the SDS total score was good (Cronbach’s ??=?0.70). However, criterion validity against the CIDI diagnosis cannabis dependence was low: area under curve (AUC) was 0.68 (95% confidence interval: 0.64-0.73) and at the optimal differentiating cut-off (SDS???4), sensitivity was 61.3% and specificity 63.5%. Results were similar for subgroups on gender and ethnicity. While internal consistency of the SDS is good, its use as a screener to differentiate between dependence and non-dependence within populations of young adult frequent cannabis users is not recommended. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. HubMed – addiction
[Tabacco during pregnancy: A risk factor for addiction and psychiatric diseases?]
Presse Med. 2013 May 10;
Lançon C
The use of tobacco during pregnancy is a risk factor for cognitive and comportemental disorders in childhood and adolescent. TDHA, addiction and psychiatric diseases are more frequent in adolescent and adult with tobacco use during pregnancy. Strategies to quit smoking in pregnant women may improve mental health. HubMed – addiction
[Mephedrone: A new synthetic drug.]
Presse Med. 2013 May 10;
Petit A, Karila L, Sananes M, Lejoyeux M
Mephedrone is a synthetic psychostimulant derived from cathinone belonging to the family of phenylethylamines. Sold on the Internet, it has recently emerged in France in recreational settings, and is mostly consumed by young people from the gay community and festive environment. Identified in 2008 by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction as a new drug on the market, the use of mephedrone has attracted media attention following the suspicious deaths of two young adults in Sweden and in England. Its legal aspect, ease of getting it on the Internet and cheap price coupled and an alternative-seeking to other psychostimulants make mephedrone a prime target for these populations and a source of abuse, with psychiatric and somatic complications. There is no curative pharmacological treatment approved by health authorities. HubMed – addiction
A Cross-sectional, Comparative Study of Pain and Activity in Persons With and Without Injection-Related Venous Ulcers.
Ostomy Wound Manage. 2013 May; 59(5): 14-23
Pieper B, Dinardo E, Nordstrom CK
Persons with leg ulcers, including venous ulcers, often report pain. A cross-sectional, comparative study was conducted among 61 patients receiving care in an urban clinic (31 with and 30 without a venous ulcer, mean age 54 years [range 40 to 65 years], 93% African American) to examine pain and its relation to activity and walking in persons with injectionrelated venous ulcers. The questionnaire included items about pain and its treatment, as well as activity and walking (ie, Brief Pain Inventory [BPI] Short Form, Self-Treatment of Pain, Pain and Narcotic Use, Difficulty with Activities, and Walking Scale questionnaires). Among those with a venous ulcer (VU+), worst pain significantly related to total interference (r = 0.65, P <0.0001) and total difficulty (r = 0.42, P = 0.02) BPI scores. The common pain sites for those VU+ involved the legs (24, 36.4%), wound sites (13, 19.7%), back (eight, 12.1%), general body (five, 7.6%), shoulder and knee (four, 6.1% each), and other (eight, 12.1%). Persons VU+ were more likely than those without a venous ulcer (VU-) to have received a prescription for narcotics in the past year (96% versus 41%, X2 = 21.3, P <0.0001). Persons VU+ versus VU- were significantly (X2 = 8.89, P = 0.003) more likely to resort to street drug use and relapse to addiction if pain was not adequately treated. They were also twice as likely to have decreased walking over the past 5 years (67% versus 33%, X2 = 5.93, P <0.02). Among those VU+, venous ulcers added to chronic pain and decreased walking. These findings highlight the negative effects of injection-related venous ulcers on pain, activity, and walking, as well as the propensity of this groupto resort to illicit drug use for pain control. Persons VU+ should have pain assessed and treated. %%T::46%%%%T::47%%HubMed - addiction%%T::48%%%%T::48%% %%T::48%% %%T::48%% %%T::48%%How does rate of smoking cessation vary by age, gender and social grade? Findings from a population survey in England.%%T::48%% %%T::48%%%%T::48%%Addiction%%T::48%%. 2013 May 14; %%T::48%%Fidler J, Ferguson SG, Brown J, Stapleton J, West R%%T::48%%AIMS: To assess the incidence of long-term smoking cessation as a function of age, gender, social grade and their interactions. DESIGN & SETTING: Cross-sectional surveys of population representative samples of smokers in England. PARTICIPANTS: 24,094 ever smokers (?21 and ?60 years of age) participating in household surveys between November 2006 and February 2011. MEASUREMENTS: The ratio of long-term (>1 year) ex-smokers to ever-smokers was calculated for each age. Regression analyses were used to model the association between age and quit ratio, with the change in quit ratio by year of age n years versus all years up to n-1 years yielding an estimate of the quitting incidence at that age. Analyses were conducted for the entire sample and then for the sample stratified by gender and social grade, and interactions assessed between these variables. FINDINGS: A cubic trend was needed to fit the data. The estimated long-term annual quitting incidence between ages 18 and 30 was 1.5% (95% CI=0.8%-2.2%), between 31 and 50 it was 0.3% (95% CI=0.0%-0.7%) and between 51 and 60 it was 1.2% (95% CI=0.0%-2.4%). Age interacted with gender and social grade: women and smokers from higher social grades had a higher incidence of quitting than men and those from lower social grades specifically in young adulthood. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of smoking cessation in England appears to be greater in young and old adults compared with those in middle age. Women and higher social grade smokers show a greater incidence of quitting than men and those from lower social grades specifically in young adulthood. HubMed – addiction
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