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09:16
A General Method for Evaluating Deep Brain Stimulation Effects on Intravenous Methamphetamine Self-Administration
Published on: January 22, 2016
Pattern of Methamphetamine Use and the Time Lag to Methamphetamine Dependence
Pongkwan Yimsaard1, Michael M Maes, Viroj Verachai
1Police General Hospital (PY); Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok (MMM, RK); Thanyarak Institute on Drug Abuse, Thailand Ministry of Public Health, Pathumthani (VV); and Department of Psychiatry, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand (RK).
Journal of Addiction Medicine
|November 28, 2017
Summary
Methamphetamine (MA) use often co-occurs with other substances. Using other drugs before MA significantly shortens the time to developing MA dependence, highlighting vulnerability in users.
Area of Science:
- Addiction research
- Neuroscience
- Public health
Background:
- Methamphetamine (MA) use frequently co-occurs with other substance use.
- Understanding substance initiation patterns is crucial for MA dependence treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine substance initiation patterns in MA users.
- To investigate the impact of initiating other substances (alcohol, nicotine, inhalants, cannabis) before MA on the time to MA dependence.
Main Methods:
- Data collected from 991 MA users at a Thai substance treatment center.
- Sociodemographic, environmental, and clinical data were gathered.
- The Semi-Structured Assessment for Drug Dependence and Alcoholism was used for diagnosis.
Main Results:
- MA onset age (18) was later than alcohol (17), nicotine (16), and inhalants (15), but similar to cannabis.
- Using other substances before MA (OTH>MA) was associated with a shorter time lag to MA dependence (3 years) compared to MA as the first substance (MA>OTH) (5 years).
- Female gender was more prevalent in the MA>OTH group.
Conclusions:
- Initiating other substances before MA use increases vulnerability to faster MA dependence.
- Findings suggest that early intervention for polysubstance use may mitigate MA dependence progression.
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