Addiction
06 Jan Very Few Youth Receive Recommended Treatment After Opioid Overdose
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52629" align="alignleft" width="133"] Dr. Alinsky[/caption]
Rachel H. Alinsky, MD, MPH
Adolescent Medicine and Addiction Medicine Fellow
Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: We know that over 4,000 adolescents and young adults between the ages of 15-24 are dying from an opioid overdose every year. Nonfatal opioid overdose has been identified as a potential touchpoint with the healthcare system when individuals can be drawn into treatment, yet very little is known about health care use following opioid overdose in youth. We were interested in figuring out the extent to which adolescents and young adults are receiving evidence-based treatment after an opioid overdose.
06 Jan Meth-Related Overdoses May Continue to Accelerate
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52664" align="alignleft" width="200"] Dr. Dawson[/caption]
Dr. Eric Dawson, PharmD
Vice President, Clinical Affairs
Millennium Health
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has projected a drop in the number of overdose deaths for 2018; the first reported decline since 1990. They cite a decrease in prescription opioid deaths as the leading contributor to the overall reduction, but caution that deaths associated with synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl, as well as stimulants appear to be increasing.
In 2019, we reported a 798% increase in urine drug test positivity rates for nonprescribed fentanyl among results positive for methamphetamine and an 1850% increase among results positive for cocaine. In an effort to conduct ongoing surveillance of the polysubstance use landscape and help characterize these evolving trends in a more timely manner, we examined our UDT data as close to real-time as possible to observe trends in positivity for methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin, with and without illicit fentanyl.
02 Jan Atrial Fibrillation and Alcohol Abstinence
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52609" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Kistler[/caption]
Professor Peter M Kistler MBBS, PhD, FRACP
Head of Clinical Electrophysiology Research
Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute
Head of Electrophysiology at The Alfred hospital
Professor of Medicine
University of Melbourne.
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: There is a well known association between alcohol intake and atrial fibrillation form population based studies which demonstrate that for every 1 standard drink the incidence of AFib increases by 8%.
This is the first randomised study to determine of alcohol reduction/abstinence leads to a reduction in AFib episodes and time to recurrence.
30 Dec How Have State Opioid Limits Affected Post-Surgery Prescribing?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sunil Agarwal, MD Michigan Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network Ann Arbor, MI MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Excess opioid prescribing after surgery often leads to misuse and diversion into the community. To prevent excessive prescribing for acute pain, 31 states have implemented legislation that limits the duration of opioid prescriptions. Our study examined the effect of prescribing limits and postoperative opioid prescribing on surgical patients in Massachusetts and Connecticut, the first two states to implement opioid prescribing limits for acute pain after the CDC guidelines were released.
23 Dec Pediatric Acute Opioid Poisonings Increasing
Posted at 22:04h
in Author Interviews, Critical Care - Intensive Care - ICUs, Mental Health Research, Opiods, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Megan Land, MD, PGY 6
Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship
Emory University School of Medicine
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
- Much of the research on the opioid crisis has focused on the impact to adults; however, children and adolescents in the US are also negatively affected by the opioid epidemic.
- The percentage of children admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit increased over the study period as the clinical effects of the opioid ingestions increased in severity.
- The primary intent of opioid ingestions was suspected suicide attempts in adolescents resulting in increasing admissions to a psychiatric hospital.
- Opioids associated with the highest odds of needing an intervention in an intensive care unit were methadone, fentanyl, and heroin.
20 Dec Marked Increase in Marijuana Use in E-Cigarettes Among School Kids
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51463" align="alignleft" width="165"] Dr. Hongying (Daisy) Dai[/caption]
Hongying (Daisy) Dai, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Biostatistics | College of Public Health
University of Nebraska Medical Center
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: E-cigarette use increased significantly from 2017 to 2019 among U.S. adolescents, and marijuana and other substances besides can be used in e-cigarettes. Meanwhile, restrictions on marijuana use have been relaxing and social acceptability of marijuana use is shifting among youth.
This study analyzed 38,061 middle and high school students from the 2017 and 2018 National Youth Tobacco Survey.
19 Dec Overdose Risk Factors in Children and Youth Prescribed Opioids
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52464" align="alignleft" width="200"] Dr. Kao-Ping Chua[/caption]
Kao-Ping Chua, MD PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics
Susan B. Meister Child Health Evaluation and Research Center
University of Michigan
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Opioids are frequently prescribed to adolescents and young adults aged 12-21 years – in a recent study, 1 in 8 patients in this population were prescribed opioids during the year. At the same time, almost 30% of the 3000 opioid-related overdose deaths in 2016 among adolescents and young adults involved prescription opioids. Given the frequency of opioid prescribing and the risk of overdose, it is important to understand how to prescribe opioids safely to adolescents and young adults.
However, there have been few studies that examine which opioid prescribing patterns are associated with prescription opioid overdose in adolescents and young adults. Prior studies examining these patterns have focused on older adults, particularly U.S. Veterans, so the generalizability of these findings to younger populations is unclear.
10 Dec Risk-Assessing Computer Games Predictive of Opioid Addiction Relapse
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52410" align="alignleft" width="148"] Dr. Anna Konova[/caption]
Anna Konova, PhD
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Psychiatry & UBHC
Core Faculty, Brain Health Institute
Rutgers University - New Brunswick
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Opioid reuse and relapse are common outcomes even when a person is seeking treatment for their addiction. These reuse events pose many health risks, as well as risk for treatment failure. We currently lack the much needed tools to understand and predict this reuse vulnerability.
In this study, we used computer games that assess a person's decision making process, to get at psychological processes related to how people make decisions involving risks, when they transitioned between lower and higher reuse vulnerability states during the first few months of opioid treatment.
05 Dec Property Crimes Increase Near Legal Marijuana Dispensaries
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52359" align="alignleft" width="200"] NATHAN CONNEALY[/caption]
Nathan J. Connealy
Doctoral student
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
CUNY
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: The background, or what prompted this study, is that research on this topic is pertinent right now as more states continue down a path towards legalization. A large share of the research base and public debate centers around the potential adverse effects of marijuana accessibility, consumer-based concerns, and health specific outcomes associated with usage.
This research instead focuses on a lesser explored question related to the potential for the physical dispensary locations to impact crime levels, which is also an important consideration when assessing the impact of recreational marijuana legalization.
05 Dec Altered Brain Function Connectivity in Infants Exposed to Opioids in the Womb
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52356" align="alignleft" width="200"] Dr. Radhakrishnan[/caption]
Dr. Rupa Radhakrishnan, MD
Assistant professor of Radiology and Imaging Sciences
Indiana University School of Medicine
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Opioid use in pregnancy is a major public health crisis. Opioids adversely impact maternal, fetal and infant health. Infants who were exposed to opioids in the womb, can have withdrawal symptoms soon after birth, and are also at risk for poor long term neurodevelopment outcomes.
Our group studied the changes in brain function in infants exposed to opioids in the womb, to understand how opioids affect the developing brain. We used resting state functional MRI to study these infants.
27 Nov Association of Disability With Mortality From Opioid Overdose
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52316" align="alignleft" width="107"]
Dr. Yong-Fang Kuo[/caption]
Yong-Fang Kuo, PhD
Professor and Director, Office of Biostatistics
Don W. and Frances Powell Professor in Aging Research
[caption id="attachment_52317" align="alignleft" width="124"] Dr. Mukaila Raji[/caption]
Mukaila Raji, MD, MS, FACP
Professor & Director
Edgar Gnitzinger Distinguished Professorship in Aging
Preventive Medicine and Population Health
UTMB Health
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Medicare beneficiaries who qualified because of disability constitute a growing population of patients hospitalized for opioid/heroin overdose. Although the CDC regularly generates reports of opioid overdose deaths by demographics and states, studies on policy actionable predictors of overdose mortality (e.g., clusters of medical and psychiatric conditions, types of disabling conditions) are lacking in this population.
27 Nov Decrease in Life Expectancy Concentrated in Rust Belt and Appalachia
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52264" align="alignleft" width="174"] Dr. Woolf[/caption]
Steven H. Woolf, MD, MPH
Director Emeritus and Senior Advisor, Center on Society and Health
Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Population Health
C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Distinguished Chair in Population Health and Health Equity
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
Richmond, Virginia 23298-0212
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Life expectancy in the US has decreased for three years in a row, the first time this has occurred in this country since the Spanish flu epidemic a century ago. Meanwhile, life expectancy in other countries continues to climb.
Our study found that the trend is being driven by an increase in death rates among working-age adults (ages 25-64 years), which began as early as the 1990s. The increase has involved deaths from drug overdoses—a major contributor—but also from alcoholism, suicides, and a long list of organ diseases. We found increases in 35 causes of death.
We analyzed the trends across the 50 states and discovered that the trend is concentrated in certain regions, especially the Industrial Midwest (Rust Belt) and Appalachia, whereas other regions like the Pacific states were least affected. Increases in midlife mortality in four Ohio Valley states (Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Kentucky) accounted for one third of the excess deaths between 2010 and 2017.
26 Nov Kids More Likely to Use Marijuana if Their Parents Do
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52232" align="alignleft" width="158"] Dr. Madras[/caption]
Bertha K. Madras PhD
Director, Laboratory of Addiction Neurobiology
Psychobiologist, Substance Use Disorders Division, Basic Neuroscience Division
Professor of Psychobiology, Department of Psychiatry
Harvard Medical School
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Parent use of marijuana is rising, and I wondered whether this could be associated with offspring use of specific substances and across several substances
- Several fathers have confided in me that they used marijuana to bond with their sons. They became horrified after witnessing their sons progress to using other drugs, especially heroin.
- In general, living with a parent using substances or having substance use disorders is an explicit risk for use of substances among young offspring. Yet, few studies have directly examined whether parental marijuana use elevates the risk for opioid misuse among adolescent and young adults living with parents. Most importantly and to the best of our knowledge, none of the existing research simultaneously explored frequency of parental marijuana use and whether it related to adolescent and young adult offspring’s marijuana, tobacco, alcohol use, and opioid misuse.
17 Nov Stroke Risk May Be Higher Among Young Cannabis Users
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rupak Desai, MBBS Research Fellow, Division of Cardiology Atlanta VA Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Amidst legalization of therapeutic and recreational use of marijuana/cannabis in the United States, cerebrovascular effects of marijuana use remain largely unknown, especially among young adults. We examined the association between cannabis use (18–44 years) among young adults and stroke events. The study analyzed pooled data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (2016–2017)—a nationally representative cross-sectional survey collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overall, 13.6% of total 43,860 young adults (18-44 years) reported using cannabis recently (in the last month), with 63.3% of them being men. Compared with nonusers, marijuana users were often younger, non-Hispanic white or black, and with some college education.
12 Nov Researchers Question Value of Opioids in Osteoarthritis Treatment
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52079" align="alignleft" width="142"] Dr. Bannuru[/caption]
Raveendhara R. Bannuru MD, PhD, FAGE
Director, Center for Treatment Comparison and Integrative Analysis (CTCIA)
Deputy Director, Center for Complementary and Integrative Medicine (CCIM)
Asst Professor of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine
Asst Professor of Clinical & Translational Science, Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences
Division of Rheumatology, Tufts Medical Center
Boston, MA
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Given the current controversy regarding the use of opioids in chronic pain, we wanted to delve deeper into the efficacy and safety profiles of oral opioid drugs in osteoarthritis patients. Temporal assessments like ours can reveal peak periods of efficacy, and can provide clinicians with a blueprint for optimal durations of treatment regimens. With respect to subgroup analyses based on strength of opioid binding affinity, we sought to explore currently held paradigms that strong opioids may be useful for the treatment of severe pain, and to specifically assess their relevance in OA populations. Knowledge of the relative efficacy and safety profiles of strong versus weak opioids can give clinicians the information they need to weigh benefits and harms of specific subgroups of opioids.
04 Nov Challenges of Controlling Pain While Minimizing Risk of Opioid Use Disorder
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52054" align="alignleft" width="145"] Dr. Henningfield[/caption]
Jack E. Henningfield, PhD
Vice President, Research, Health Policy, and Abuse Liability
Pinney Associates
Adjunct Professor of Behavioral Biology
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
29 Oct Escapism Predicts Gaming Disorder Among eSport and Recreational Players
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Zsolt Demetrovics PhD and Orsolya Király PhD Department of Clinical Psychology and Addiction Institute of Psychology ELTE Eötvös Loránd University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Gaming disorder has recently been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a mental disorder. Research examining gaming motivations and mental health among video gamers and in relation with gaming disorder is increasing but different types of gamers such as recreational gamers and esport gamers are not commonly distinguished. Esport is form of electronic sport and refers to playing video games in a professional (competitive) manner in sports-like tournaments. Much like in the case of traditional sports, esport players and teams are sponsored, tournaments are broadcasted and followed by large audiences and have large financial prizes. Therefore, being an esports player in now a real career opportunity for teenagers and young adults who like playing video games.
23 Oct Online Searches for CBD Skyrocket
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51918" align="alignleft" width="158"] Dr. Ayers[/caption]
John W. Ayers, PhD, MA
Vice Chief of Innovation | Assoc. Professor
Div. Infectious Disease & Global Public Health
University of California San Diego
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Touted as a “cure all,” researchers have documented unfounded claims
that cannabidiol (CBD) treats acne, anxiety, opioid addiction, pain,
and menstrual problems. You can buy CBD droplets, massage oils,
CBD gummies, or even ice cream.
But public health leaders have been mostly silent on the subject because they lacked data
that demonstrates just how popular CBD is and the future trajectory might be.
To fill this data-gap we analyzed Google search queries that mentioned
“CBD” or “cannabidiol” emerging from the United States from January
2004 through April 2019 and forecasted searches through December 2019.
Rather than relying on self reports, where some might not be willing
to discuss CBD openly, our strategy allowed us to directly observed
millions of instances of people seeking out information or even
shopping for CBD online.
14 Oct Does Legalizing Pot Reduce Crime?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Ruibin Lu
Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice
Stockton University
Absecon, New Jersey
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: We are witnessing a trend of legalizing marijuana in the United States and in the world. Many states have either legalized recreational marijuana or are considering it. At the same time, there are concerns about what will happen to our society if weed is legal. One of the concerns is about crime rates: are we going to experience more or fewer crimes after legalizing recreational marijuana? This is a legitimate question that we should consider when making cannabis-related public policies. Our research provides a preliminary answer to this question. It analyzes crime rates before and after the legalization using rigorous scientific methods and provides more information on how marijuana legalization may affect crime rates.
11 Oct Crystal Meth: Is Wipe Sampling Adequate to Determine if Occupants Have Been Breaking Bad?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51821" align="alignleft" width="200"] Crystal MethWikipedia image[/caption] Dr Jackie Wright (Fellow ACTRA) Adjunct – Flinders UniversityDirector Environmental Risk Sciences (enRiskS) MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The contamination of homes with methamphetamine can occur from illegal manufacture or smoking (ice). The methamphetamine residues that are left behind can result in methamphetamine exposures to future occupants of the home, resulting in the potential for adverse health effects. To assess the level of contamination that remains in these homes, the method used is to collect a surface wipe sample. This is a wipe of specified area of a surface (such as walls, floors, kitchen cabinets, or window frames etc) which is then analysed to determine how much methamphetamine residue remain on that surface. The guidelines for determining if a property is safe for occupation is based on surface wipe sampling. This study has further evaluated the level of methamphetamine that is present in a home that was formerly suspected to have been used for the manufacture of methamphetamine. To supplement surface wipe sampling which was undertaken over time, the level of methamphetamine that is within the building/house materials/items themselves was tested, as a bulk analysis, to determine how much methamphetamine is present in these materials, if the methamphetamine has penetrated through and into materials such as the gyprock walls, and if the methamphetamine that is present in materials present when the manufacture occurred have transferred to the homeowners possessions that were brought into the home well after manufacture occurred.
06 Oct Both Parents-to-Be Should Avoid Alcohol Before Conception
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Jiabi Qin, MD, PhD Xiangya School of Public Health Central South University Changsha, China MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Congenital heart defects (CHDs), defined as a gross structural abnormality of the heart or intrathoracic great vessels occurring in embryonic period and affected nearly 1% of lives births, is the most common of all congenital defects and remains a major cause of mortality and morbidity in fancy and childhood. With a worldwide prevalence of CHDs now estimated to be 1.35 million newborns with CHDs every year, the number of CHDs is steadily increasing, representing a major global health burden. The association between maternal alcohol exposure and the risk of congenital heart defects (CHDs) has been explored, but little is known about the association between paternal alcohol exposure and the risk of CHDs. Furthermore, subsequent studies regarding the association between alcohol exposure and the risk of congenital heart defects have not yield consistent results. Therefore, given the inconsistency of existing literatures and insufficient evidence of primary studies, further an update meta-analysis based on the new and previously is evidently required. Especially, to our knowledge, any meta-analysis between paternal alcohol exposure and the risk of CHDs have not been conducted.
05 Oct Marijuana Use More Common Among Adults With Medical Conditions
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51463" align="alignleft" width="165"] Dr. Hongying (Daisy) Dai[/caption]
Hongying (Daisy) Dai, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Biostatistics | College of Public Health
University of Nebraska Medical Center
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Although marijuana is still classified as a Schedule I drug at the Federal level, as of June 2019, 33 states and the District of Columbia have legalized one or more forms of marijuana; 11 states and the District of Columbia have approved both medical and recreational uses. Public opinion on marijuana has changed dramatically over the last two decades and support for legalization has doubled since 2010. However, very little is known about the prevalence and patterns of marijuana use among adults with medical conditions.
This study analyzed the 2016 and 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data to report the prevalence and patterns of marijuana use among adults with self-reported medical conditions.
30 Sep How Does Alcohol Affect the Risk of Dementia and Cognitive Decline?
Posted at 19:33h
in Alcohol, Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Cognitive Issues
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_51654" align="alignleft" width="133"] Manja Koch[/caption]
Manja Koch Dr. oec. troph. (Ph.D. equivalent)
Research Associate
Department of Nutrition
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Majken K. Jensen, PhD
Associate Professor of Nutrition
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are highly prevalent conditions. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, 50 million people are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias worldwide.
Given the lack of a cure or even disease-modifying therapies for most dementias, the identification of risk factors or factors that prevent or delay the onset of dementia remains of paramount concern.
Alcohol is a globally consumed beverage and light-to-moderate alcohol consumption, defined as up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men, tends to be associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease, a major risk factor for dementia. However, the effects of light-to-moderate alcohol intake on the brain are less clear.
23 Sep Epigenetic Changes Linked to Hypersexual Disorder and Addictive Behaviors
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Adrian E. Boström MD, on behalf of the authors Department of Neuroscience Uppsala University, Sweden
06 Sep In States With Medical Marijuana Laws, Marijuana Use Highest Among Bisexual Women
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51156" align="alignleft" width="133"] Dr. Morgan Philbin[/caption]
Morgan Philbin, PhD MHS
Assistant Professor
Department of Sociomedical Sciences
Columbia University School of Public Health
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Marijuana is the most frequently used substance in the United States (US) after alcohol and tobacco. In 2017, 15.3% of the US population ages 18 and up reported past-year marijuana use (MU) and 9.9% past month use. Individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB), also report higher levels of marijuana use and marijuana use disorder than their heterosexual counterparts. Researchers have begun to explore potentially modifiable factors, such as state-level marijuana policies, that affect marijuana use and related outcomes at the population-level and within subgroups—though as of yet not among sexual minority populations.
We therefore examined whether LGB individuals living in states with medical marijuana laws (MMLs) have higher levels of marijuana use and marijuana use disorder compared to LGB individuals in states without MMLs.
31 Aug Fatty Meals May Increase CBD Absorption
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51113" align="alignleft" width="133"] Dr. Birnbaum[/caption]
Angela Birnbaum, Ph.D., FAES
Professor, Director of Graduate Studies
Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology
College of Pharmacy
University of Minnesota
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Little was known about the effect food has on the amount of cannabidiol (CBD) that is actually absorbed into the body. Because of various state laws, CBD preparations vary from state to state. In Minnesota, however, the law only allows pure forms of cannabidiol providing a consistent supply of product including a purified CBD capsule formulation. Due to its pharmacological properties a low amount of a CBD dose reaches the blood stream and the effect of food had not been well described.
Our study was done to determine the amount of cannabidiol
that is absorbed with food as compared to an empty stomach at doses used in epilepsy patients, which can be higher than the dose often used for other conditions.
30 Aug Doctors More Likely To Prescribe Opioids When They Are Running Late
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51102" align="alignleft" width="150"] Dr. Neprash[/caption]
Dr. Hannah T. Neprash, PhD
Assistant Professor, Division of Health Policy and Management
School of Public Health
University of Minnesota
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Physicians play a pivotal role in the opioid epidemic and it's important to understand what factors that drive opioid prescribing. Variation in opioid prescribing across physicians has been well-documented, but there’s very little research on variation within physicians…which is surprising, given the widespread concern about time pressure and cognitive fatigue having a potentially detrimental effect on the quality of care provided by physicians.
28 Aug Life Expectancy Declining For Non-College Educated White Men
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51077" align="alignleft" width="180"] Dr. Sasson[/caption]
Isaac Sasson, PhD
Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the
Herczeg Institute on Aging
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv, Israel
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Life expectancy at birth in the United States has been declining steadily since 2014, which is very unusual for a high-income country in times of peace. In fact, the last time that life expectancy declined in the US was in the early 1990s, and only briefly. Studies from the past few years have shown that the rise in mortality is concentrated among middle-aged Americans and particularly the lower socioeconomic classes.
Our study analyzed over 4.6 million death records in 2010 and 2017 to understand which causes of death account for the rise in mortality among white and black non-Hispanic US adults. In addition, given the substantial socioeconomic inequality in health in the US, we broke down our results by level of education, which is a good proxy for socioeconomic status. Essentially, our goal was to measure how many years of life were lost, on average, to each cause of death across different social groups.
21 Aug Americans Spent As Much on Illegal Drugs as on Alcohol
Posted at 17:30h
in Addiction, Alcohol, Author Interviews, Cannabis, Cocaine, Methamphetamine, Opiods
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_50985" align="alignleft" width="133"]
Dr. Midgette[/caption]
Greg Midgette, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice
University of Maryland
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: This report estimates marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine use in the U.S. between 2006 and 2016 on three dimensions: the number of past-month chronic users per year, where "chronic" has previously been defined as consuming the drug at least four days in the past month, expenditure per drug among those users, and consumption of each drug. These measures are meant to aid the public and policy makers' understanding of changes in drug use, outcomes, and policies.