Substance Use Disorder News and Research

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Biden calling ACA ‘breakthrough’ for mental health parity highlights gaps

In a sit-down interview with CNN, 2020 Democratic presidential primary candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden touted the Obama administration's passage of the Affordable Care Act, asserting that this law evened out the playing field when it came to insurance coverage of mental and physical health.

11 Jul 2019

Bariatric surgery patients at higher risk of death from substance use problems

The death rate from drug- and alcohol-related causes in people who've had Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery is nearly triple that of the general public, according to University of Pittsburgh research published today in Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, the journal of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

8 Jun 2019

Legal promise of equal mental health treatment often falls short

Amanda Bacon's eating disorder was growing worse. She had lost 60% of her body weight and was consuming about 100 calories a day.

7 Jun 2019

Sociodemographic factors, polysubstance use linked with opioid-related overdose deaths

A new study led by Boston Medical Center's Grayken Center for Addiction shows that opioid-related overdose deaths involving another substance is now the norm, not the exception, in Massachusetts.

30 May 2019

Use of buprenorphine to treat opioid addiction proliferates in California

Buprenorphine, a relative newcomer in the treatment of opioid addiction, is growing in popularity among California doctors as regulatory changes, physician training and other initiatives make the medication more widely accessible.

24 May 2019

Parental opioid use doubles the risk of suicide attempts by their children

The suicide rate among young people in the U.S. has risen dramatically in the past 15 years. Over the same time period, opioid use and abuse in adults also has increased considerably.

23 May 2019

Study may help identify patients at relapse risk after treatment for cocaine use disorder

A study conducted at the University of São Paulo in Brazil and described in an article published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence may help healthcare workers identify patients who risk relapse after undergoing treatment for cocaine use disorder.

17 May 2019

Researchers learn more about opioid prescribing in primary care

Chronic opioid prescribing in primary care varies significantly by patient and clinician characteristics, according to a new study.

15 May 2019

Opioid overdose found to be most common cause of pregnancy-associated death in new moms

As the opioid epidemic rages on, one vulnerable group--new moms--have often been overlooked.

9 May 2019

Prolonged exposure therapy is more effective in treating veterans with PTSD, alcohol use disorder

Prolonged exposure therapy is more effective at treating PTSD than Seeking Safety, a coping skills therapy, for patients who also have alcohol use disorder, found a VA San Diego Healthcare System study.

24 Apr 2019

Research shows mindful body awareness training helps women recover from drug addiction

A novel type of body awareness training helps women recover from drug addiction, according to new research from the University of Washington. People in the study made marked improvement, and many improvements lasted for a year.

17 Apr 2019

Opioid epidemic fuels growing rates of some infectious diseases

The United States faces a converging public health crisis as the nation's opioid epidemic fuels growing rates of certain infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, heart infections, and skin and soft tissue infections.

4 Apr 2019

People under age 50 with hearing loss more likely to misuse alcohol and drugs

People under age 50 with hearing loss misuse prescription opioids at twice the rate of their hearing peers, and are also more likely to misuse alcohol and other drugs, a new national study finds.

26 Mar 2019

Aspiring doctors seek advanced training in addiction medicine

The U.S. Surgeon General’s office estimates that more than 20 million people have a substance use disorder. Meanwhile, the nation’s drug overdose crisis shows no sign of slowing.

22 Mar 2019

Many individuals recovering from addiction continue to suffer from chronic physical disease

Alcohol and other substance-use problems take enormous psychological and societal tolls on millions of Americans.

22 Mar 2019

Mothers with children taken into out-of-home care more likely to receive inadequate prenatal care

Mothers whose first child was taken into care were found to have inadequate or no prenatal care during subsequent pregnancies, according to a study published in CMAJ.

25 Feb 2019

Discharged, dismissed: ERs often miss chance to set overdose survivors on ‘better path’

The last time heroin landed Marissa Angerer in a Midland, Texas, emergency room — naked and unconscious — was May 2016. But that wasn't her first drug-related interaction with the health system.

15 Feb 2019

Relapse dreams more common in people with severe alcohol, drug addiction history

Vivid dreams involving drinking and drug use are common among individuals in recovery. A study from the Massachusetts General Hospital Recovery Research Institute, published in the January issue of the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment after online release in October 2018, finds these relapse dreams are more common in those with more severe clinical histories of alcohol and other drug problems.

13 Feb 2019

What ‘dope sick’ really feels like

Detoxing off heroin or opioids without medication is sheer hell. I should know. For many users, full-blown withdrawal is often foreshadowed by a yawn, or perhaps a runny nose, a sore back, sensitive skin or a restless leg. For me, the telltale sign that the heroin was wearing off was a slight tingling sensation when I urinated.

8 Feb 2019

MUSC researchers examine the way estrogen affects drug addiction

Male rats have held steady as the focus of most addiction studies in the past. But as the field begins to take female rats into account, scientists see that drugs like methamphetamine affect the sexes differently, suggesting the basis for a change in addiction treatment.

7 Feb 2019