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The remaining 11 patients still utilizing PES in 2020 had on average seven chronic medical conditions (95% CI: 3.8-10.2), with six patients having at least one alcohol-attributable condition, and were taking on average 11 chronic medications (95% CI: 8.5-13.5). Among all 12 patients still alive and within the state of Connecticut in 2020, all but one patient who required nursing home care continued to utilize PES services, and the majority of patients with substance use disorder continued to report substance use in 2020. Prevalence of Substance Use Disorder in Hospitalized Pediatric Patients With Eating Disorders... B Precious Obehi Eseaton SP 1 sp , Samuel Nwaobi SP 2 sp , Henry Onyeaka SP 3 sp , Abby Enosolease SP 4 sp , Adeolu Funso Oladunjoye SP 5 sp , Ehizogie Edigin SP 6 sp , Adeolu Oladunjoye* SP 5 sp b SP 1 sp University of South Wales, SP 2 sp Piedmont Columbus Regional, SP 3 sp Harvard Medical School, SP 4 sp University of Benin, SP 5 sp Baylor College of Medicine, SP 6 sp Loma Linda University Health B Summary b : We aim to study the prevalence of substance use disorder in hospitalized pediatric patients with eating disorders in the United States. Alcohol use was most frequently reported (16 patients), followed by stimulant use (nine patients), opioid use (seven patients), and then other substances such as sedative-hypnotics and cannabis (four patients). Only a minority of the patients had only METH as a presenting disorder with the most patients also manifesting opioid use disorders. [Extracted from the article]

The 34th Annual Meeting and Scientific Symposium of the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) was a successful event, attended by approximately 650 clinicians from diverse disciplines. The conference focused on evidence-based prevention, treatment, and recovery approaches for individuals with substance use disorders (SUD) and co-occurring psychiatric disorders. The conference included workshops, paper presentations, posters, film workshops, and case conferences on various topics related to addiction psychiatry. The American Journal on Addictions (AJA) has dedicated an issue to sharing select segments of the conference proceedings, including written summaries of presentations and a diverse range of accepted posters. The AJA and AAAP encourage attendance at the 2024 annual meeting, which will offer a wide variety of scientific offerings. CME credits are available for participation in the annual meeting and for serving as a peer reviewer for the AJA. The AJA has seen international recognition, with submissions and readership from countries outside of the United States. The journal's content has focused on opioid use disorder, comorbid SUD, digital therapeutics, and the impact of stigma on SUD. The AJA expresses gratitude to its peer reviewers for their contributions to maintaining the journal's quality. The editors wish readers a successful 2024 and look forward to continued engagement with the AJA and participation in the November 2024 AAAP conference. [Extracted from the article]

Background and Objectives: This paper examines risk factors of gambling and problem gambling among racial subgroups in the U.S. population, namely Native Americans and blacks, for whom research data are lacking.Methods: Findings are based on a large representative general population survey (n = 3,474) of gambling in the U.S. with an oversample of Native Americans (n = 549). Multiple domains were assessed including sociodemographic factors; ecological factors (census-defined neighborhood disadvantage, geocoded density of casinos within 30 miles of respondents' homes, and perceived gambling convenience); impulsivity; and alcohol abuse.Results: After controlling for all variables in the study, neighborhood disadvantage has a significantly greater effect on overall gambling, frequent gambling, and problem gambling for Native Americans than for the rest of the U.S.Population: In addition, the relationship between frequent gambling and heavier drinking is much stronger for blacks than for the rest of the U.S.Population: Discussion and Conclusions: There is a lack of research on gambling involvement among minority groups in the U.S. Blacks and Native Americans are at a higher risk for problem gambling as compared with the rest of the population. Furthermore, social factors and alcohol abuse may show a stronger co-occurrence with gambling involvement among minority groups than among whites.Scientific Significance: This study is a large representative U.S. sample with sizeable numbers of Native Americans and blacks. Thus, prevalence rates and risk factors can be assessed for these important population subgroups. This will allow for targeted intervention programs for Native Americans and blacks with problem gambling and alcohol abuse. (Am J Addict 2017;26:713-721). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: This special issue brings together papers focusing on a wide range of topics relevant to the research and understanding of the role of race/ethnicity and genetic variation for the susceptibility of developing an alcohol use disorder (AUD).Methods: The key findings from the issue's 10 articles are reviewed and organized here around three topics: I: addictive behaviors and potential environmental influences; II: a focus on four racial/ethnic groups; and III: special methodologies.Results: Several potential next steps in improving effective research strategies are highlighted: (1) implementing best practices for outreach and community engagement may reduce reluctance to participate; (2) recruiting adequately sized and racially/ethnically diverse samples will require new collaborations with investigators who successfully work in diverse communities; (3) identifying and assessing environmental influences that are both unique to, and common among, racial/ethnic groups may inform preventions for AUD; (4) use of standardized measures will facilitate the generation of larger samples and meta-analysis of research findings; and (5) use of better analytic approaches and experimental methods will improve replication in gene finding research and help advance new areas of research.Conclusions: Genetic research of AUD in diverse racial/ethnic populations is advancing. The articles in this issue examined the general theme of including diverse population groups in genetic studies and offered potential strategies for addressing some common problems.Scientific Significance: Greater inclusion of diverse racial/ethnic populations in this research is important to ensure that the benefits of new knowledge and technology are equally shared. (Am J Addict 2017;26:532-537). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Racial/ethnic groups comprise more than 20% of the U.S. population, but many experience disproportionately high risk for alcohol misuse, often resulting in higher rates of alcohol-associated consequences. Completion of mapping the human genome has launched rapidly evolving research methods aimed at improved understanding of genetic contribution to disease. Despite decades of research on the influence of genetic and environmental risks on alcohol use disorders and outcomes, few studies have included racial/ethnic subpopulations in sufficient numbers to allow for proper statistical analysis.Methods: The papers in this special issue help to elucidate current knowledge on the etiology of genetic and environmental contributors and potential moderators of alcohol use and associated problems among racial/ethnic populations. The lack of racial/ethnic diversity across many genetic studies contributes to challenges in interpretation of findings and eventually applications to precision medicine.Results: Proposed approaches to overcome disparities in racial/ethnic participant recruitment in genetic studies include methods to address population stratification in allele frequency, improve transparency in subjects' consenting to participate, and engaging interdisciplinary research teams and community involvement to improve recruitment of racial/ethnic minorities.Discussion and Conclusions: The reviews presented underscore various gaps in our knowledge of the genetic influences on alcohol use disorders due to the failure to include racially and ethnically diverse populations in genetic and epigenetic study samples. New directions are suggested to overcome the resulting research challenges and ultimately to inform future personalized intervention approaches for racial/ethnic populations.Scientific Significance: Inclusion of heterogeneous populations in genomic research will provide a better comprehension of possible unique genetic factors in the broader general population that may be missed due to exclusion of unique and common variants that may be present in racial/ethnic populations. (Am J Addict 2017;26:526-531). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although alcohol use disorders are commonly associated with co-morbid drug use and psychiatric disorders, such co-morbidity is frequently underdiagnosed and inadequately treated. This paper reviews the epidemiological, diagnostic, and treatment literature on the co-morbidity of alcoholism, with a focus on the most common co-morbid disorders: drug abuse, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and antisocial personality disorder. The paper goes on to describe a number of promising approaches to the treatment of these common co-morbid disorders in alcoholics. Despite the difficulties inherent in treating dual diagnosis patients, the clinician must recognize that it is possible to derive valid diagnoses and deliver efficacious treatment to such patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Existing studies of Latino(a) college students in the United States suggest that self-reported alcohol consumption tends to be higher among males, and that drinking among Latinas is often influenced by social and contextual factors. The current study extended this work by examining both self-reported drinking levels and predictors of drinking among Latino(a) college students in the United States and Mexico (MX). Methods: Latino(a) college students (N = 376) from three universities in the South Central United States and Northern Mexico completed pencil-and-paper surveys about alcohol. Results: US Latino students (vs. MX males), reported drinking more frequently and had more positive expectancies about alcohol. Latinas in the United States (vs. MX females) were more likely to report regular drinking. Across countries, both female gender and the Mexican orientation component of acculturation predicted lower reported alcohol consumption. Positive expectancies about drinking predicted increased drinking. Conclusions and Scientific Significance: Self-reported college drinking and expectancies about alcohol may differ subtly among individuals in the United States and Mexico based on gender and endorsement of traditional Mexican values. These findings could ultimately be applied to the development of more tailored programs for the treatment and prevention of alcohol abuse on college campuses. (Am J Addict 2012;21:544-549) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies provide conflicting information on the relationship between drinking and mental health problems in older men and women. This paper addresses the relationship of binge/heavy drinking to psychological distress in community-dwelling older men and women. The study sample consisted of subjects aged 50 and older (n = 2,462 men and 2,863 women) who participated in the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Men and women who drank and drank heavily were compared, and ordinary least squares regression analysis was used to examine the association between drinking and psychological distress after demographic factors and health status were controlled for. Binge/heavy drinking was found to be related to psychological distress in older women, but not in older men. Though findings on the relationship between heavy drinking and psychological distress in men and women are not consistent across studies, older men and women should be assessed for both conditions in clinical settings. (Am J Addict 2011;00:1-9) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Alcohol has many effects on lipid metabolism and has been associated with elevated triglycerides. The purpose of this paper is to report a case of globally dysregulated lipids secondary to alcohol use and to describe the natural history of this phenomenon after drinking cessation.Methods: We present a case of an otherwise healthy patient (N = 1) who was admitted to our facility for alcohol detoxification and found to have extreme lipid dysregulation. He was treated with benzodiazepines for alcohol withdrawal but no hypolipidemic agents were given.Results: Lipid indices self-corrected and were found to be normal following just several weeks of sobriety in the absence of treatment with any hypolipidemic agents.Discussion: The literature regarding the effects of alcohol on lipid metabolism is briefly reviewed followed by a discussion of how these findings might apply to this patient in particular as well as implications for broader clinical practice.Conclusion and Scientific Significance: Alcohol has the ability to dysregulate several lipid indices in addition to elevating triglycerides. The rapid resolution of dyslipidemia suggests that additional treatment may not be necessary for patients who are able to abstain from alcohol but that hypolipidemic agents may be indicated for those patients who continue to drink. Additionally, clinicians should consider checking lipid panels in patients who present with alcohol intoxication and are found to have other laboratory abnormalites or those who have risk factors for hyperlipidemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Addiction Severity Index (ASI) is a multi-dimensional interview used to measure the substance use, health, and social problems of those with alcohol and other drug problems, both at admission to treatment and subsequently at follow-up contacts. This article first discusses the conceptual and practical importance of the ASI's multi-dimensional approach to measuring addiction severity, as illustrated by two case presentations. The second section of the paper reviews how this measurement approach has led to some important findings regarding the prediction and measurement of addiction treatment effectiveness. The third section describes the historical and practical considerations that have changed the instrument over time, details the problems with the instrument, and describes our efforts to correct those problems with the ASI-6. Finally, some recent ASI data collected from over 8,400 patients admitted to a nationally representative sample of U.S. addiction treatment programs are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we sought to evaluate a modification of the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test designed to include problems associated with other drug abuse/dependence besides alcohol. Scores of the lifetime Michigan Assessment-Screening Test/Alcohol-Drug (MAST/AD) were compared to other lifetime measures of substance abuse and dependence and to psychiatric scales reflecting current or recent symptoms. Two university medical centers with alcohol-drug programs located within departments of psychiatry hosted 520 patients with alcohol-drug-related diagnoses. Patients completed their own MAST/AD using a paper-and-pencil format. Based on interviews with the patient, a research associate rated the patients' substance-related problems on the Minnesota Substance Abuse Problem Scale (M-SAPS) and obtained information on lifetime treatment for substance abuse. An addictions psychiatrist determined abuse or dependence and made a current diagnosis of alcohol abuse/dependence only, drug abuse/dependence only, and alcohol plus drug abuse/dependence. The MAST/AD was highly correlated with the M-SAPS and several other measures of substance abuse morbidity. Patients with alcohol-only and drug-only diagnoses did not differ from one another on the MAST/AD, although both groups had lower scores than those with alcohol plus drug diagnoses. Current psychosocial morbidity as assessed by the patient and the psychiatrist was associated with the MAST/AD, although less strongly than with lifetime substance abuse measures. The lifetime MAST/AD demonstrates reliability as a severity measure for alcohol and/or drug abuse. With minor modification, this standard measure can be expanded from alcohol diagnoses to all substance diagnoses. This study in a clinical population did not demonstrate its utility as a screening instrument; additional work is needed to reveal its utility for this purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medication treatment for alcohol use disorders often includes a psychotherapy component. The most appropriate psychotherapy to use may depend upon characteristics of the patient, the medication, the setting, and the experiences of the provider. To date, little empirical research has investigated these issues with respect to outcomes in clinical trials that combine pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. This paper reviews seven major types of psychotherapy for treatment of alcohol use disorders: brief interventions, motivational enhancement therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, cue exposure therapy, behavioral treatments, behavioral marital therapy, and twelve-step therapy. The theoretical basis for and empirical evidence supporting the efficacy of the therapies are reviewed, with an emphasis on studies that provided pharmacotherapy in conjunction with psychotherapy. Directions for future research in this area are also suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the literature on the importance of genetic influences in the development of alcohol abuse and dependence (alcoholism). The alcohol use disorders are fairly typical of most complex genetic conditions in that multiple genetic influences combine together to explain approximately 40% to 60% of the risk. One useful approach for identifying specific genes related to alcoholism involves identifying a population in which known genetic factors are controlled and using genome scan and/or case-control, association approaches to search for specific genes. Several characteristics, or endophenotypes, have been identified as both genetically influenced and contributing toward the risk for alcoholism, including alcohol-metabolizing enzymes, the low level of response to alcohol, and electrophysiological measures. The potential importance of each of these characteristics is reviewed, and data relating to the search for specific genetic material for each endophenotype are presented. These findings are placed in the perspective of the impact that they are likely to have on both prevention and treatment efforts in the alcohol field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue of The American Journal on Addictions is an extension of a workshop held at the Research Society on Alcoholism (2015) highlighting several important issues related to studies of the genetic bases of alcohol use disorder among racially/ethnically diverse populations. While not exhaustive in their coverage, the papers in this special issue focus on three important topics: (1) the importance of considering the social and environmental context in genetic analyses; (2) social and cultural considerations for engaging diverse communities in genetic research; and (3) methodologies related to phenotype development for use with racially/ethnically diverse populations. A brief overview of each paper included in these three sections is presented. The issue concludes with additional considerations for genetic research with racially/ethnically diverse population groups along with a commentary. (Am J Addict 2017;26:422-423). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue that includes abstracts of the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) annual meeting; description of oral presentations of the conference; and invitation of research paper submission regarding alcoholism.