International Journal of High Risk Behaviors and Addiction
Year:2015 | Volume:4 | Issue:4|Papers Count:10

Background: Measurement of life quality as an index of health status has a widespread application in health care domain.Objectives: The current study aimed to determine the quality of life of referents to addiction cessation centers of Iran.Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 988 addicts who had referred to addiction cessation centers in Shahroud were studied through SF-36 questionnaire. The data were analyzed using linear regression in structural equation modeling and STATA 12 statistical software.Results: The mean ± SD age of the participants was 41.2 ± 11.8 years. Most of the referents used smoking followed by eating method of opium abuse. The mean ± SD score of life quality was 67.8 ± 17.2, the mean ± SD score of life quality in physical health dimension was 76.9 ± 26.7, and the mean ± SD score in mental health dimension was 64.5 ± 18.4. Univariate analysis showed a significant relationship between life quality and gender, place of residence, education, occupation, marital status, and income (P ≤ 0.05). However, in multivariate analysis a significant relationship was observed only between gender, socioeconomic status, and quality of life score.Conclusions: Although most studies have reported low and weak quality of life in addicts, the findings of this study shows that the life quality score of addicts is rather good. It seems that the maintenance treatment that addicts receive in addiction cessation centers has been effective in improving the quality of life of the patients. Hence, expanding methadone treatment centers can play a leading role in the improvement of life quality in addicts.

Background: According to drug gateway theory, smoking cigarettes, especially, low onset age of smoking, is one of the risk factors for future use.Objectives: The present study aimed to compare nicotine and opiate addicts to identify the differences in personality traits and onset age of smoking in the two groups that cause some individuals to appeal to other substances after starting to use cigarettes.Patients and Methods: Two groups of opiate and nicotine addicts were randomly selected. Revised version of the Cloninger temperament inventory questionnaire, the Fagrastrom nicotine dependence and the Maudsley addiction profile were used. ANOVA and logistic regression were applied for data analysis.Results: Opiate addicts had higher scores in novelty seeking dimension and lower scores in cooperativeness compared to nicotine addicts. The onset age of smoking cigarette in opiate addicts was lower than nicotine addicts.Conclusions: Low onset age of smoking cigarettes, high novelty seeking and low cooperativeness in opiate dependents are among the important personality traits in future use of drugs that can predict the subsequent onset of using opiate drugs.

Dear editor, We read with interest the article by Perkins et al. (1) titled "Is knowledge enough? Considering HIV/AIDS risk taking behavior and human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) knowledge with African-American women" which recently has been published in your prestige journal. The authors have presented a simple, yet fascinating study on the determinant of behavioral change regarding HIV/AIDS. While we wish to address minor issues, we would like to provide additional evidence confirming the conclusion made by authors. First, as stated by Levine, "research results are no more valid than the data gathering tool" (2).

Background: Addiction has surpassed the boundaries of health and treatment and turned into a social crisis and a debilitating and major concern in today’s world. Amphetamine, one of the addictive drugs, is classified as psycho-stimulants drugs, which increase arousal, alertness, and motor activity. Humans report that this drug produces a significant euphoria and is highly addictive.Objectives: The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of hope therapy protocol (HTP) on depression reduction and hope increase in amphetamine users.Patients and Methods: This study has a quasi-experimental design with experimental and control groups. The sample included all amphetamine consumers referring to day drug addiction treatment center in Ray City, Iran, selected with convenience method. In order to analyze the data, multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was applied using SPSS software.Results: The results showed that F value of mean scores in depression and hope post-tests of the experimental and control groups are 24.94 and 25.73, respectively, which are significant (P<0.01). Therefore, hope therapy training could reduce depressive symptoms in amphetamine consumers and improve their hope.Conclusions: Performing HTP can improve hopefulness and symptoms of patients, specially addicted ones. In addition, it can prevent substance abusers from returning to drugs and leaving the treatment period unfinished.

Background: Expansion of technology and progression of sciences have led to wider access to agricultural and industrial drugs and chemicals, which has resulted in many problems. Both in wanted and unwanted ways people may take these toxic agents, which perhaps may be along with many unpredictable, life-threatening and mortal outcomes. Based on many studies, most of intentional poisonings arise from an origin of patients’ psychological backgrounds, which confirms necessity and importance of the recent study.Objectives: This study aimed to study the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in patients with drug poisoning.Patients and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 116 cases of poisoning referred to emergency room of Ali-Ebn-Abitaleb Hospital in Rafsanjan city, Iran, were randomly selected. Frequency of anxiety among participants was evaluated through the Spielberger questionnaire. A past history of depression and obsession was also evaluated through interview by a psychiatrist based on diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5) criteria. All data were then collected and analyzed using SPSS version 17.Results: Anxiety, as the second most common reason of psychiatric disorders in cases of poisoning, with a prevalence of 12.1% in form of mild, 75.9% moderate and 12.1% severe, was confirmed among the participants of this study.Conclusions: The prevalence of anxiety among cases of poisoning with both drugs and chemicals are noticeably higher than general population. This fact strongly suggests the necessity of in-advance consultation and treatment of any underlying psychiatric disorders of patients to prevent prospective complications.

Background: Methadone maintenance has remained the main modality of treatment for opioid dependent subjects. Side effects of methadone treatment may be potential obstacles to its continuation. Sleep quality and sexual function are two culture-based concerns, directly related to patients’ compliance with methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) program.Objectives: This research was conducted to examine the frequency of sleep disparity and sexual dysfunction in patients under MMT referring to MMT clinics of Kerman, Iran.Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 198 adult subjects under MMT for more than 6 months were enrolled. Measurement tool consisted of Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), Arizona sexual experience scale (ASEX), the 12-item general health questionnaire (GHQ-12), and a demographic questionnaire. The questionnaires were self-completed, except where individuals were illiterate.Results: Mean ± SD age of the subjects was 41.2 ± 7.9 years and 93.4% of them were male. More than half of them used heroin. Prevalence of poor sleeping and sexual dysfunction in patients under MMT were 67.7% and 18.2%, respectively. There was no association between sleep quality or sexual dysfunction and demographics or methadone dose. However, a significant correlation was observed between mental health and sleep quality (r=0.16, P=0.033), and sexual function (r=0.18, P=0.011).Conclusions: Sleep quality showed a poorer profile than sexual function. Therefore, more emphasis should be laid on treatment of sleep disparity during follow up of MMT patients comparing to their sexual function. Patients should be reassured that probable sexual dysfunctions should not be regarded as a consequence of MMT.

Background: Given the role of temperament and character dimensions on impulsivity in addicts, the purpose of this study was to temperament and character dimensions: correlates of impulsivity in morphine addicts.Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine and verify the association of temperament and character dimensions with impulsivity in morphine addicts.Patients and Methods: The research method was descriptive and correlational. The study sample consisted of 120 morphine addicts referred to drug addiction treatment centers in Ardabil city in 2013. The participants were selected through convenience sampling method from 5 centers. We used impulsivity scale as well as temperament and character inventory to collect data.Results: The results showed that significant relationship existed between impulsivity and characteristics such as novelty seeking, harm avoidance, reward dependence, persistence, self-directedness, and cooperativeness, while no significant relationship between impulsivity and self-transcendence was observed. The results of the multiple regression analysis showed that 47% of the impulsivity variance was explained by temperament and character dimensions.Conclusions: These findings suggest that temperament and character dimensions are associated with impulsivity. The findings also have important implications for prevention, pathology, and treatment in the morphine addicts.

Background: One of the main concerns of policymakers is to measure the impact of harm reduction programs and different interventions on the risk of HIV transmission among Injecting Drug Users (IDUs). Looking simultaneously at multiple factors and conditions that affect the risk of HIV transmission may provide policymakers a better insight into the mixed nature of HIV transmission.Objectives: The present study aimed to design a simple, brief, and multi-dimensional scale for measuring HIV transmission risk among IDUs.Patients and Methods: From October 2013 to March 2014, we conducted face-to-face interviews with 147 IDUs. Eligible participants were individuals 18 years or older who had injected drugs at least once during the last year and had not participated in similar studies within the 2 months before the interview. To design a scale for measuring HIV transmission risk, we specified 11 items, which address different dimensions of HIV risk taking behaviors/situations based on experts’ opinion. We applied exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with principal component extraction to develop scales. Eigen values greater than 1 were used as a criterion for factor extraction.Results: We extracted 7 items based on first factor, which were accounted for 21% of the variations. The final scale contained 7 items: 4 items were related to injecting practice and 3 items related to sexual behaviors. The Cronbach’s α coefficient was 0.66, acceptable for such a brief scale.Conclusions: Applying a simple and brief scale that incorporates the different dimensions of HIV transmission risk may provide policymakers and harm reductionists with a better understanding of HIV transmission in this key group and may be advantageous for evaluating intervention programs.

Introduction: The Internet is considered a beneficial tool in research, communication, and information. Still, its excessive and prolonged use has the potential of causing addiction. The presentation of this technological hazard may range from a mild socio-personal distress to a gross disorganization in behavior and self-care. No reported study on Internet gaming addiction is available from India.Case Presentation: We reported a case of two brothers, diagnosed with Internet gaming addiction, who showed grossly disorganized behavior and severely compromised self-care. The condition was managed by pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies, with sustained improvement after 6 months follow up.Conclusions: Internet gaming addiction may cause severe personal, social, and occupational problems. Despite the range of severity and various presentations of this disorder, DSM-5 lacks the severity classifier. Early identification and management may result in complete recovery.

Context: In the present review study, authors investigated Iran’s activities regarding prevention, abuse and harm reduction of drugs nationwide. The issue appears to be important in order to show the trend of activities in the country.Evidence Acquisition: In this report, authors gathered data from different Farsi/English peer review journals issued both in printed and online versions. These journals have been indexed in PubMed, ISI, ISC, SID, Magiran, UN, etc. These are among the most referred and cited databases.Results: Summarizing the data led to three distinguished sections: 1) drug supply reduction activities; 2) drug demand reduction activities; 3) harm reduction activities.Conclusions: As the results showed, the trend of activities was encouraging and some additional activities could be included to future programs relying on early-onset preventions.