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Published on: August 25, 2014
Substance use measures among women in early pregnancy
N Markovic1, R B Ness, D Cefilli
1Women's Health Program, Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA. ninam@vms.cis.pitt.edu
Objective:
Our purpose was to compare self-reported and biochemical measures for tobacco, marijuana, and cocaine exposures among women early in pregnancy.
Study Design:
Women who were in the early stages of pregnancy and were examined in an inner-city emergency department were enrolled. Tobacco, marijuana, and cocaine use was measured by self-report and urinalysis. Cocaine use was also assessed by hair analysis.
Results:
Data were available for 789 women. Among those reporting past use of tobacco, marijuana, and cocaine, 25.2%, 23.9%, and 22.7%, respectively, had positive results of urinary assays; among those reporting current use, 77.2%, 86.6%, and 75.9% had positive findings, whereas among those reporting never use 5.6%, 5. 7%, and 3.6% of results were positive. Hair analysis, in comparison with urine testing, for cocaine identified 4 times as many exposures among women who reported never using cocaine.
Conclusions:
Urinary assays were equally likely to be positive among women reporting never use and those reporting past use of tobacco, marijuana, or cocaine. Thus women with a positive biologic assay result were as likely to deny use of tobacco as they were to deny marijuana, or cocaine.
