1. Supply-Side Disruption in Cocaine Production Associated With Cocaine-Related Maternal and Child Health Outcomes in the United States.
- Author
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Delcher C, Livingston M, Wang Y, Mowitz M, Maldonado-Molina M, and Goldberger BA
- Subjects
- Adult, Child Health, Cocaine-Related Disorders epidemiology, Female, Humans, Infant, Newborn, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Complications epidemiology, United States epidemiology, Cocaine supply & distribution, Cocaine-Related Disorders prevention & control, Length of Stay legislation & jurisprudence, Length of Stay statistics & numerical data, Pregnancy Complications prevention & control
- Abstract
Objectives: To investigate the effects of precursor chemical regulation aimed at reducing cocaine production on cocaine-related maternal and newborn hospital stays in the United States., Methods: We analyzed monthly counts of maternal and neonatal stays from January 2002 through December 2013 by using a quasi-experimental interrupted time series design. We estimated the preregulation linear trend, postregulation change in linear trend, and abrupt change in level., Results: The number of monthly cocaine-related maternal and neonatal stays decreased by 221 and 128 stays, respectively, following the cocaine precursor regulation change. We also observed a further decline in per-month maternal and neonatal stays of 18 and 8 stays, respectively., Conclusions: A supply-side disruption in the United States cocaine market was associated with reduced hospital stays for 2 vulnerable populations: pregnant women and newborns. Results support findings that federal precursor regulation can positively reduce cocaine availability in the United States.
- Published
- 2017
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