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Association between psychiatric symptoms and craving in methamphetamine users
Helenna Nakama1, Linda Chang, Christine Cloak
1Department of Psychiatry, John A. Burns School of Medicine, The Queen's Medical Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813, USA. nakamah@dop.hawaii.edu
The American Journal on Addictions
|September 5, 2008
Summary
Adult methamphetamine users experience more depressive and psychotic symptoms than controls. These symptoms strongly correlate with drug craving intensity, suggesting psychiatric treatment may reduce relapse risk.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Neuroscience
- Addiction Medicine
Background:
- Methamphetamine use is associated with significant psychiatric disturbances.
- Understanding the link between psychiatric symptoms, craving, and usage patterns is crucial for effective treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare psychiatric symptoms between methamphetamine users and controls.
- To investigate the relationship between psychiatric symptoms and methamphetamine craving intensity.
- To examine correlations between psychiatric symptoms and methamphetamine usage variables.
Main Methods:
- Adult methamphetamine users (n=46) and control subjects (n=31) were assessed.
- Psychiatric symptoms were measured using the Center for Epidemiology Studies-Depression (CES-D) and Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90).
- Methamphetamine craving was assessed using a visual analog scale (VAS).
- Methamphetamine usage variables included length of abstinence, frequency, duration, and lifetime grams.
Main Results:
- Methamphetamine users exhibited significantly higher depressive (CES-D) and psychotic (SCL-90) symptoms compared to controls.
- Depressive and other psychiatric symptoms (SCL-90) strongly correlated with the intensity of methamphetamine craving (VAS).
- No significant correlations were found between psychiatric symptoms and methamphetamine usage variables (abstinence, frequency, duration, grams).
Conclusions:
- Depressive and psychiatric symptoms are strongly linked to methamphetamine craving intensity.
- Psychiatric symptoms in methamphetamine users are not associated with drug usage patterns.
- Treating psychiatric symptoms may be beneficial for reducing craving and preventing relapse in methamphetamine users, irrespective of usage history.
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