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Overdose Deaths Increased in Pregnant and Postpartum Women From Early 2018 to Late 2021
Drug overdose deaths rose markedly between January to June 2018 and July to December 2021 among 10- to 44-year-old girls and women who were pregnant or pregnant within the previous 12 months, according to a new study by researchers at National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National...
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Men Died of Overdose at 2-3 Times Greater a Rate Than Women in the U.S. In 2020-2021
Men were significantly more vulnerable than women to overdose deaths involving opioid and stimulant drugs in 2020-2021, according to a new study analyzing death records data from across the United States. The study found that men had a 2–3 times greater rate of overdose mortality from opioids...
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Only 1 in 4 Adolescent Treatment Facilities Offer Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder
Only 1 in 4 residential addiction treatment facilities caring for U.S. adolescents under 18 years old offer buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder, according to a new study. Only 1 in 8 offer buprenorphine for ongoing treatment. These findings highlight a significant gap in...
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Still Reaching: The Syndemics that Complicate and Characterize How Drugs and HIV Intersect in People’s Lives
Nearly 42 years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a rare pneumonia in five gay men, marking the recognized start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. While we often hear about those men’s sexuality, we hear less often about their substamce use. As the 1981 report notes,...
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Prenatal Cannabis Exposure Associated With Mental Disorders in Children That Persist Into Early Adolescence
Prenatal cannabis exposure following the middle of the first trimester – generally after five to six weeks of fetal development – is associated with attention, social, and behavioral problems that persist as the affected children progress into early adolescence (11 and 12 years of age),...
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Increased Use of Telehealth for OUD Services During COVID-19 Pandemic Associated With Reduced Risk of Overdose
The expansion of telehealth services for opioid use disorder (OUD) during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with individuals staying in treatment longer and reducing their risk of medically treated overdose, according to a new study. Published today in JAMA Psychiatry, this study was a...
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Buprenorphine Initiation in the ER Found Safe and Effective for Individuals With Opioid Use Disorder Who Use Fentanyl
Results from a multi-site clinical trial supported by the National Institutes of Health showed that less than 1% of people with opioid use disorder whose drug use includes fentanyl experienced withdrawal when starting buprenorphine in the ER. The findings, which appeared today in JAMA Network Open,...
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Creating Sustainable Homes for Prevention Services
The addiction and overdose crisis in the U.S. continues unabated, with more than 46 million people having a substance use disorder (SUD) in 2021 and more than 100,000 people dying from drug overdose annually. The crisis is increasingly hitting adolescents. Fentanyl, the main driver of overdose...
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Overdose Deaths Involving Buprenorphine Did Not Proportionally Increase With New Flexibilities in Prescribing
The proportion of opioid overdose deaths involving buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder, did not increase in the months after prescribing flexibilities were put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study. These data provide evidence that may help to...
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School Prevalence of Stimulant Therapy for ADHD Associated with Higher Rates of Prescription Stimulant Misuse Among Teens
Researchers have identified a strong association between the prevalence of prescription stimulant therapy for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and rates of prescription stimulant misuse (taken in a way other than as directed by a clinician) by students in middle and high schools. The...
