A follow-up study on the quality of alcohol dependence-related information on the web.

ABSTRACT: In order to evaluate the one-year evolution of web-based information on alcohol dependence, we re-assessed alcohol-related sites in July 2007 with the same evaluating tool that had been used to assess these sites in June 2006. Websites were assessed with a standardized form designed to rate sites on the basis of accountability, presentation, interactivity, readability, and content quality. The DISCERN scale was also used, which aimed to assist persons without content expertise in assessing the quality of written health publications. Scores were highly stable for all components of the form one year later (r = .77 to .95, p < .01). Analysis of variance for repeated measures showed no time effect, no interaction between time and scale, no interaction between time and group (affiliation categories), and no interaction between time, group, and scale. The study highlights lack of change of alcohol-dependence-related web pages across one year.

Substance use and suicidal conduct: a study of adolescents hospitalized for suicide attempt and ideation.

AIM: To study the prevalence of psychoactive substance use disorder (PSUD) among suicidal adolescents, psychoactive substance intoxication at the moment of the attempt, and the association between PSUD at baseline and either occurrence of suicide or repetition of suicide attempt(s). METHODS: 186 adolescents aged 16 to 21 y hospitalized for suicide attempt or overwhelming suicidal ideation were included (T0); 148 of them were traced again for evaluations after 6 mo (T1) and/or 18 mo (T2). DSM-IV diagnoses were assessed each time using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. RESULTS: At T0, 39.2% of the subjects were found to have a PSUD. Among them, a significantly higher proportion was intoxicated at the time of the attempt than those without PSUD (44.3% vs 25.4%). Among the 148 adolescents who could be traced at either T1 or T2, two died from suicide and 30 repeated suicide attempts once or more times. A marginally significant association was found between death by suicide/repetition of suicide attempt and alcohol abuse/dependence at baseline (OR=3.3, 95% CI 0.7-15.0; OR=2.6, 95% CI 0.7-9.3). More than one suicide attempt before admission to hospital at T0 (OR=3.2, 95% CI 1.1-10.0) and age over 19 y at T0 (OR=3.2, 95% CI 1.1-9.2) were independently associated with the likelihood of death by suicide or repetition of suicide attempt. CONCLUSION: Among adolescents hospitalized for suicide attempt or overwhelming suicidal ideation, the risk of death or repetition of attempt is high and is associated with previous suicide attempts--especially among older adolescents--and also marginally associated with PSUD; these adolescents should be carefully evaluated for such risks and followed up once discharged from the hospital.

Substance use and suicidal conducts : a study of adolescents hospitalized for suicide attempt and ideation

RESUME Objectifs: Etudier la prévalence des troubles liés à l'utilisation de substances psychoatives parmi des adolescents suicidaires; évaluer l'influence de la prise de substances psychoactives sur le geste suicidaire; analyser l'association entre les troubles liés à l'utilisation de substances psychoactives et le risque de récidive de la conduite suicidaire. Méthode: 186 adolescents, âgés de 16 à 21 ans, hospitalisés pour tentative de suicide ou idées suicidaires envahissantes, ont été inclus. Parmi eux, 148 ont été revus pour évaluation à 6 et/ou 18 mois. Des diagnostics psychiatriques, basés sur les critères du DSM-IV, ont été posés à l'aide d'un questionnaire, le MINI (Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview). Résultats: A l'inclusion, 39.2% des sujets avaient un trouble lié à l'utilisation de substances psychoactives. Parmi eux, une proportion significativement plus élevée était sous l'influence d'alcool ou drogue au moment de la tentative de suicide (44.3% versus 25.4%). Des 148 adolescents suivis et revus à 6 ou 18 mois, 2 sont décédés par suicide et il y a eu 30 récidives de tentative de suicide durant l'étude. Une association significative a été trouvée entre les récidives de suicide et un diagnostic d'abus/dépendance à l'alcool à l'inclusion (OR=3.3; CI 0.7-15.0; 0R=2.6, CI 0.7-9.3). Des antécédents de plusieurs tentatives de suicide (OR=3.2; CI 1.1-10.0) et un âge supérieur à 19 ans (OR=3.2; CI 1.1-9.2) à l'inclusion étaient associés à la probabilité de mort par suicide ou de récidive de tentative de suicide. Conclusion: Parmi les adolescents hospitalisés pour tentative de suicide ou idées suicidaires envahissantes, le risque de décès ou de récidive est important. Ce risque est associé, entre autres, à des antécédents suicidaires et au diagnostic de trouble lié à l'utilisation de substances psychoactives. Le risque suicidaire ainsi que la consommation de substances psychoactives devrait être évalué chez les adolescents. De plus, les sujets jugés à risque devraient être suivis systématiquement après une hospitalisation pour conduite suicidaire. ABSTRACT Aim: To study the prevalence of psychoactive substance use disorder (PSUD) among suicidal adolescents, psychoactive substance intoxication at the moment of the attempt and the association between PSUD at baseline and either occurrence of suicide or repetition of suicide attempt(s). Methods: 186 adolescents aged 16 to 21 hospitalised for suicide attempt or overwhelming suicidal ideation were included (TO); 148 of them were traced again for evaluations after 6 months and/or 18 months. DSM-IV diagnoses were assessed each time using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Results: At TO, 39.2% of the subjects were found to have a PSUD. Among them, a significantly higher proportion was intoxicated at the time of the attempt than those without PSUD (44-.3% vs. 25.4%). Among the 148 adolescents who could be traced at either Ti or T2, two died from suicide and 30 repeated suicide attempt once or more time. A marginally significant association was found between death by suicide/repetition of suicide attempt and alcohol abuse/dependence at baseline (0R=3.3; CI 0.7-15.0; 0R=2.6, CI 0.7-9.3). More than one suicide attempt before admission to hospital at TO (OR=3.2; CI 1.1-10.0) and age over 19 at TO (0R=3.2; CI 1.1-9.2) were independently associated with the likelihood of death by suicide or repetition of suicide attempt. Conclusion: Among adolescents hospitalised for suicide attempt or overwhelming suicidal ideation, the risk of death or repetition of attempt is high and is associated with previous suicide attempts - especially among older adolescents - and also marginally associated with PSUD; these adolescents should be carefully evaluated for such risks and followed up once discharged from the hospital.

Excessive alcohol consumption in young men: is there an association with their earlier family situation? A baseline-analysis of the C-SURF-study (Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors).

AIMS: To determine whether parental factors earlier in life (parenting, single parent family, parental substance use problem) are associated with patterns of alcohol consumption among young men in Switzerland. METHODS: This analysis of a population based sample from the Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors (C-SURF) included 5,990 young men (mean age 19.51 years), all attending a mandatory recruitment process for the army. These conscripts reported on parental monitoring and rule-setting, parental behaviour and family structure. The alcohol use pattern was assessed through abstention, risky single occasion drinking (RSOD), volume drinking and dependence. Furthermore, the impact of age, family socio-economic status, educational level of the parents, language region and civil status was analysed. RESULTS: A parental substance use problem was positively associated with volume drinking and alcohol dependence in young Swiss men. Active parenting corresponded negatively with RSOD, volume drinking and alcohol dependence. Single parent family was not associated with a different alcohol consumption pattern compared to standard family. CONCLUSION: Parental influences earlier in life such as active parenting (monitoring, rule-setting and knowing the whereabouts) and perceived parental substance use problem are associated with alcohol drinking behaviour in young male adults. Therefore, health professionals should stress the importance of active parenting and parental substance use prevention in alcohol prevention strategies.

La dépendance à l'égard de l'environnement lors de lésions cérébrales: conduites d'imitation, de préhension et d'utilisation [Environmental dependence in brain lesions: imitative behavior, prehension and utilization].

This paper reviews the literature on clinical signs such as imitation behavior, grasp reaction, manipulation of tools, utilization behavior, environmental dependency, hyperlexia, hypergraphia and echolalia. Some aspects of this semiology are of special interest because they refer to essential notions such as free-will and autonomy.

Substance use among sportive adolescents in the French-speaking part of Switzerland

[Contents] Introduction. Objectives. Methodology. Results. Characteristics of the sample. Substance use (Psychoactive substances, Performance-enhancing substances). Profile of sportive adolescents using substances. Mixed substance use. Other factors related to substance use. Inactivity. Conclusions. References. Annexes. Annex 1. Questionnaire. Annex 2. Sample weighting procedure. Annex 3. Sports type.

Substance use and depression. Comparative course in adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relation between depression and substance use in adolescents and the concomitant courses of both disorders. METHODS: Four individual interviews were administered to 85 adolescent substance users aged 14-19 years (mean 17.1 years, SD 1.4) over a 3.5 year period using the Adolescent Drug Abuse Interview (ADAD) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-13). RESULTS: No predictive effect was observed on one dimension over the other, but each dimension was predictive of its own course. A decrease in substance-use severity paralleled a decrease in depressive state. Similarly, stable substance-use rates, either at a low or a high level, tended to be associated with low or high levels of depression, respectively. However, an increase in substance use was not accompanied by an increase in depressive states. Moreover, depression varied greatly between adolescents, and according to gender and age. CONCLUSIONS: Depressive states and substance use in adolescents can vary considerably overtime, and are closely but rather synchronically related. Since most of the adolescents do not seek help for substance-related problems, substance use should be systematically assessed in adolescents presenting with a depressive state.

The relationship between subjective experiences during first use of tobacco and cannabis and the effect of the substance experienced first.

INTRODUCTION: We examined the positive and negative subjective feelings associated with initial tobacco and cannabis use as well as the role of these experiences in regular use. Additionally, we investigated the effect of the first substance experienced on initial subjective experiences and later regular use. METHODS: Baseline data from a representative sample of young Swiss men were obtained from an ongoing Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors, which includes 2,321 lifetime tobacco and cannabis users. We assessed the age of first tobacco and cannabis use along with the subjective experiences associated with initial use. Additionally, subjective experiences related to regular use of both substances were analyzed. RESULTS: The initial subjective experiences were divided into positive and negative for each substance, and we found that the feelings associated with first use of tobacco and cannabis were similar. Moreover, the participants who used cannabis before tobacco reported fewer negative experiences associated with first tobacco use, whereas the participants who initially used tobacco reported more negative experiences related to first cannabis use. Also, we identified that regular use was encouraged by positive experiences and that negative experiences were more adverse for regular use of cannabis compared with tobacco. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, these results indicate that similar subjective experiences were associated with the first use of tobacco and cannabis. Also, the use of cannabis before tobacco, which occurred in only a minority of users, had the potential to enhance the effects of initial tobacco use.

Association of smoking and nicotine dependence with pre-diabetes in young and healthy adults.

INTRODUCTION: Several studies have shown an increased risk of type 2 diabetes among smokers. Therefore, the aim of this analysis was to assess the relationship between smoking, cumulative smoking exposure and nicotine dependence with pre-diabetes. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of healthy adults aged 25-41 in the Principality of Liechtenstein. Individuals with known diabetes, Body Mass Index (BMI) >35 kg/m² and prevalent cardiovascular disease were excluded. Smoking behaviour was assessed by self-report. Pre-diabetes was defined as glycosylated haemoglobin between 5.7% and 6.4%. Multivariable logistic regression models were done. RESULTS: Of the 2142 participants (median age 37 years), 499 (23.3%) had pre-diabetes. There were 1,168 (55%) never smokers, 503 (23%) past smokers and 471 (22%) current smokers, with a prevalence of pre-diabetes of 21.2%, 20.9% and 31.2%, respectively (p <0.0001). In multivariable regression models, current smokers had an odds ratio (OR) of pre-diabetes of 1.82 (95% confidential interval (CI) 1.39; 2.38, p <0.0001). Individuals with a smoking exposure of <5, 5-10 and >10 pack-years had an OR (95% CI) for pre-diabetes of 1.34 (0.90; 2.00), 1.80 (1.07; 3.01) and 2.51 (1.80; 3.59) (p linear trend <0.0001) compared with never smokers. A Fagerström score of 2, 3-5 and >5 among current smokers was associated with an OR (95% CI) for pre-diabetes of 1.27 (0.89; 1.82), 2.15 (1.48; 3.13) and 3.35 (1.73; 6.48) (p linear trend <0.0001). DISCUSSION: Smoking is strongly associated with pre-diabetes in young adults with a low burden of smoking exposure. Nicotine dependence could be a potential mechanism of this relationship.

Explicit ruin formulas for models with dependence among risks

We show that a simple mixing idea allows one to establish a number of explicit formulas for ruin probabilities and related quantities in collective risk models with dependence among claim sizes and among claim inter-occurrence times. Examples include compound Poisson risk models with completely monotone marginal claim size distributions that are dependent according to Archimedean survival copulas as well as renewal risk models with dependent inter-occurrence times.

Stage of change of cigarette smoking in drug dependent patients.

Nicotine cessation programmes in Switzerland, which are commonly based on the stage of change model of Prochaska and DiClemente (1983), are rarely offered to patients with illicit drug dependence. This stands in contrast to the high smoking rates and the heavy burden of tobacco-related problems in these patients. The stage of change was therefore assessed by self-administered questionnaire in 100 inpatients attending an illegal drug withdrawal programme. Only 15% of the patients were in the contemplation or decision stage. 93% considered smoking cessation to be difficult or very difficult. These data show a discrepancy between the motivation to change illegal drug consumption habits and the motivation for smoking cessation. The high proportion of patients remaining in the precontemplation stage for smoking cessation, in spite of their motivation for illicit drug detoxification, may be due to the perception that cessation of smoking is more difficult than illicit drug abuse cessation.