Key Findings
This is a quick summary of the main discovery for each research paper we have published, organized issue by issue. Each key finding is below the article title, with a link to the abstract.
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August 2018
Treatment Response and Non‐Response in CBT and Network Support for Alcohol Disorders: Targeted Mechanisms and Common Factors
Long‐term success in Packaged Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Network Support treatments for alcohol use disorder appears to be mediated by both general mechanisms (developing coping skills and self‐efficacy) and treatment‐targeted mechanisms (developing network strategies that emphasize social support and avoiding friends who drink).
Baclofen: its effectiveness in reducing harmful drinking, craving, and negative mood. A meta‐analysis
As a treatment for alcohol use disorders, baclofen yields higher rates of abstinence than placebo. However, it does not appear to be better in terms of increasing number of abstinent days or decreasing heavy drinking, craving, anxiety or depression.
An investigation of an open‐access model for scaling up methadone maintenance treatment
An open‐access model for rapid enrolment of people with opioid use disorder in methadone treatment appears to improve treatment access, capacity, and financial sustainability without evidence of deleterious effects on treatment outcomes.
Attempts to reduce alcohol intake and treatment needs among people with probable alcohol dependence in England: a general population survey
Adults in England with probable alcohol dependence, measured through the AUDIT, demonstrate higher motivation to quit drinking and greater use of specialist treatment and self‐driven support compared with other alcohol users, but most do not access treatment resources to support their attempts.
Drink Less Enjoy More: effects of a multi‐component intervention on improving adherence to, and knowledge of, alcohol legislation in a UK nightlife setting
A community‐based multi‐component intervention concerning alcohol sales legislation in the UK was associated with reduced sales of alcohol to pseudo‐intoxicated patrons in on‐licensed premises in a UK nightlife setting and improved nightlife patron awareness of associated legislation.
Extended‐release naltrexone (XR‐NTX) for opioid use disorder in clinical practice: Vivitrol's Cost and Treatment Outcomes Registry
Among opioid‐dependent people receiving extended release naltrexone treatment, better mental health, higher education and lower recent drug use at baseline are associated with greater treatment duration, which itself is associated with lower relapse rates and improved outcomes.
The impact of buprenorphine and methadone on mortality: a primary care cohort study in the United Kingdom
In UK general medical practice, opioid substitution treatment with buprenorphine is associated with lower mortality risk than methadone. In the population, buprenorphine is unlikely to give greater overall protection because of shorter treatment duration.
A survey of tobacco dependence treatment guidelines content in 61 countries
Although most tobacco dependence treatment guidelines in 61 countries assessed in 2016 follow the WHO's FCTC Article 14 recommendations and do not differ significantly by income level, improvements are needed in keeping guidelines up‐to‐date, applying good writing practices and developing a dissemination strategy.
Associations between personality disorders and cannabis use and cannabis use disorder: a population‐based twin study
Individual differences in liability to cannabis use and cannabis use disorder appear to be linked to genetic risks correlated with antisocial and borderline personality disorder traits.
Trajectory classes of cannabis use and heavy drinking among rural African American adolescents: multi‐level predictors of class membership
Cannabis use and heavy drinking across adolescence and young adulthood in rural African-Americans show several distinct developmental courses.
Factors associated with the efficacy of smoking cessation treatments and predictors of smoking abstinence in EAGLES
A range of smoker characteristics (psychiatric history, cigarette dependence prior use of NRT) are associated with lower cessation rates but do not substantially influence efficacy of varenicline, bupropion or NRT.
Methamphetamine psychosis: insights from the past
Research findings from the 1930s to the 1970s suggest that paranoid psychosis should be considered a probable consequence of high-dose methamphetamine use.
Four-year follow-up of an internet-based brief intervention for unhealthy alcohol use in young men
An internet-based brief intervention directed at unhealthy alcohol use among young men does not appear to reduce drinking over the long-term.
Can one simple questionnaire assess substance-related and behavioural addiction problems? Results of a proposed new screener for community epidemiology
The proposed Screener for Substance and Behavioural Addiction is a reliable and valid measure to assess the lay public's self-attributed indicators of addiction across 10 substances and behaviours.
Using the Advocacy Coalition Framework and Multiple Streams policy theories to examine the role of evidence, research and other types of knowledge in drug policy
The relationship between evidence and drug policy action is complex and follows multiple causal pathways.