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A new study published in JAMA Open Network looked at the association of benzodiazepine treatment for sleep disorders with a drug overdose risk among young people. “Benzodiazepines are a treatment option for sleep disorders,” study author Greta A. Bushnell told us. “However, overdose is a potential concern with benzodiazepines, particularly when used with other central nervous system depressants such as opioids. [More]

A new study published in JAMA looked at the long-term risk of overdose or mental health crisis after opioid dose tapering. “We have published results showing that opioid tapering after long-term stable dosing was associated with overdose and mental health crisis events during a one-year follow-up period,” study author Joshua J. Fenton told us. “We wanted to assess the longer-term outcomes associated with tapering.” [More]

A new study published in PubMed looked at the association between workplace absenteeism and alcohol use disorder from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. “The goal of our study was to estimate the relationship between lost work time (missed workdays) and alcohol use disorder among full time workers in the US,” study author Laura Bierut told us. “We used a large nationally representative US database to study this issue.” [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Neuropharmacology looked at whether a sensation-seeking trait confers a dormant susceptibility to addiction through intermittent cocaine self-administration in rats. The advantage of studying this phenomenon in rats is that researchers can examine what is different about the brains of high- versus low- sensation-seeking rats. This will help identify new targets for medications designed to treat cocaine use disorder. [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Psychiatry Research looked at changes in body dysmorphic disorder, eating disorder, and exercise addiction symptomatology during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was a longitudinal study of 319 health club users. “The study was initially about exercise addiction, eating disorders, and body image, but when COVID-19 hit, we changed the scope to see if there were any differences pre vs post the first lockdown in the UK last spring,” lead author Mike Trott told us, [More]

new study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry looked at subjective responses to alcohol in the development and maintenance of alcohol use disorder. “There are heuristic scientific models as well as common folklore surrounding the issue of responses to alcohol in those who are at risk for, and who do become addicted,” study author Dr. Andrea King told us. [More]

Researchers examined 190 young adults and followed them for ten years. They were directly tested on their response to alcohol vs. placebo beverage in initial testing sessions and then they returned five and ten years later to a laboratory in Chicago to undergo identical re-examination testing. “We flew people in from all over the country (and the world!) to come back for their returning sessions,” study author Andrea King told us. “We also conducted regular follow-up interviews semi-annually in that period. I am grateful the participants were so connected to the study, as 99% of those still living continued to participate over the decade.” [More]

A new study published in the Disability and Health Journal examined the prevalence of illicit drug use among college students with physical, cognitive, and other disabilities, and their counterparts without disabilities. “Our aim was to investigate whether there were differences in illicit substance use between students with disabilities and their peers without disabilities,” study author Myriam Casseus told us. “Numerous studies have found high rates of substance use among adults with disabilities and young adults/college students. However, there has been little research on drug use among college student with disabilities.” [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research looked at tactics for drawing youth to vaping. The study consisted of two parts. First, researchers gathered a substantial amount of evidence about why youth are drawn into vaping. Then, the researchers took all of these reasons that youth cite for taking up e-cigarettes and used it as a framework to see if e-cigarette advertisements tap into any of them. [More]

Recent research from BYU suggests that spending too much time in front of the screen playing video games can be responsible for negative developmental outcomes for adolescents and result in an addiction to video games. [More]