Cocaine dependence: "Side effects" and syndrome formation within 1-12 months after first cocaine use

This project offers new epidemiological estimates for DSM-IV cocaine dependence among sub-groups of newly incident cocaine users in the United States (US), including estimated attack rates for 21 dependence-related cocaine side effect problems and experiences occurring <12 months after onset.

In 2002-2016, US National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) sampled, recruited, and assessed cocaine experiences of non-institutionalized civilians. Unweighted estimates for year-pairs (2002-3,…,2015-16) are from 3488 cocaine powder-only initiates and 275 powder-then-crack initiates (all evaluated <12 months after onset). Analysis-weighted attack rate estimates are incidence proportions with 95% confidence intervals (CI), summarized via meta-analysis.

Evaluated <12 months after onset, meta-analysis summaries show 5% of powder-only initiates developed cocaine dependence (95% CI = 4%, 6%) versus 22% of powder-then-crack initiates (95% CI = 17%, 29%). For several cocaine side effect problems and experiences (e.g., 'loss of control' indicators) there is a statistically robust crack-associated excess risk.

Three interpretations of observed crack-associated excess risk are especially cogent and deserving of continued inquiry: (1) Powder-then-crack initiates start with heightened dependence risk susceptibilities (i.e., pre-dating onset); (2) Powder-using initiates become cocaine dependent and then start using crack; (3) The cocaine delivery variant of 'crack-smoking' is more toxic than powder insufflation. For powder-then-crack initiates, the cocaine dependence risk (22%) is modestly lower but statistically undifferentiable from a recently estimated risk of heroin dependence <12 months after heroin onset (30%). Clinicians can use these side effect estimates in an evidence-based diagnostic workup when patients disclose new onsets of cocaine use.