ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Health care provision during the COVID-19 pandemic and confinement has led to significant changes in the activity of addiction centers. These changes in healthcare activity may have had a greater impact on patients with dual pathology. The aim of this study is to compare the treatment indicators of patients with dual pathology in addiction centers during the pre-confinement, confinement, and post-confinement periods. METHODS: A retrospective observational study was conducted for the period between 1 February 2019 and 30 June 2021. A total of 2785 patients treated in specialized addiction services were divided into three periods according to their time of admission: pre-confinement, confinement, and post-confinement. RESULTS: During the pre-pandemic period, the addiction centers attended to an average of 121.3 (SD = 23.58) patients, decreasing to 53 patients during confinement (SD = 19.47), and 80.69 during the post-confinement period (SD = 15.33). The number of appointments scheduled monthly for each patient decreased during the confinement period, although this number increased after confinement. There was a reduction in the number of toxicological tests carried out both during and after confinement (except for alcohol). CONCLUSIONS: The results show a reduction in the number of patients seen and the care activity delivered to dual diagnosis patients. These results, which were caused by the COVID-preventive measures, may affect the progress and recovery of dual patients. A greater investment is needed to bring the care activity up to the standards of the years prior to confinement.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Personality disorders show strong comorbidities with alcohol-use disorder (AUD), and several personality traits have been found to be more frequent in people with AUD. This study analyzes which personality facets of those proposed in the Alternative Model of Personality Disorder (AMPD) of DSM-5 are associated with the diagnostic criteria of AUD. METHODS: The sample was composed of 742 participants randomly selected from the Spanish population, and 243 patients attending mental health services. All participants were of legal age and signed an informed consent form. The instruments were administered to the community sample in an online format, and a psychologist conducted individual face-to-face interviews with the patients. AMPD facets were assessed through the Personality Inventory of DSM-5 Short-Form, and the AUD criteria through the Substance Dependence Severity Scale. A network analysis was applied to identify the personality facets mostly associated with the AUD criteria. RESULTS: The network analysis showed the existence of three communities, grouping the AUD criteria, externalizing spectrum facets, and internalizing spectrum facets, respectively. Risk taking, callousness, and irresponsibility facets showed the strongest association with the AUD criteria, bridging externalizing personality traits with AUD criteria. CONCLUSIONS: The facets of risk taking, callousness, and irresponsibility should be accurately assessed in patients with AUD to differentiate between a possible primary personality disorder and a syndrome induced by alcohol addiction.
ABSTRACT
Health measures instantiated to reduce the spread of COVID-19 have imposed significant constraints for the population and impacted on drinking habits and mental health. This study longitudinally compared changes in alcohol consumption before and after the COVID-19 outbreak and the impact of sociodemographic and mental health variables on such changes among a community sample of young adults. Data were collected in the context of a larger, ongoing longitudinal study. The sample consisted of 305 young adults from Spain aged between 18 and 26 years (mean age = 21.27, (SD = 2.21), female = 53.4%; college students = 61.6%) who completed first (November-2019 and February-2020; i.e., before the outbreak of COVID-19) and second follow-up questionnaires (March 2021, a year after the COVID-19 outbreak). Alcohol use (quantity and drinking frequency), depression and anxiety symptoms were measured. Quantity and frequency of alcohol use decreased from the pre- to post-COVID-19 period. A decrease in drinking frequency was observed among college students, but not in noncollege peers. Although we found no effect of pre-COVID-19 anxiety on alcohol use changes, those with more depressive symptoms at the pre-COVID assessment were more resistant to decreasing their drinking quantity and frequency after the COVID-19 outbreak. This information will be of value when designing interventions aimed at reducing harmful alcohol use and highlights the role of mental health status when identifying high risk populations of young-adults during this, and future, public health crises.
ABSTRACT
This systematic review aims to examine growing evidence linking cognitive-executive functions with addiction treatment outcomes, and to discuss significant cognitive predictors drawing upon addiction neuroscience theory. We conducted a systematic search to identify studies using measures of general cognition and executive functions in patients with substance use disorders for the purpose of predicting two treatment outcomes: therapeutic adherence and relapse. Forty-six studies were selected, and sample characteristics, timing of assessments, and cognitive measures were analyzed. We observed significant methodological differences across studies, resulting in substantial variability in the relationships between cognitive-executive domains and treatment outcomes. Notwithstanding this variability, we found evidence of associations, of medium effect size, between general cognition and treatment adherence, and between reward-based decision-making and relapse. The link between general cognition and treatment adherence is consistent with emerging evidence linking limited cognitive-executive resources with less ability to benefit from talk therapies. The link between reward-based decision-making and relapse accords with decision neuroscience models of addiction. Findings may inform preclinical and clinical research concerning addiction treatment mechanisms.
Subject(s)
Cognition , Executive Function , Behavior, Addictive , Cognition Disorders , Humans , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
The measurement of perception and satisfaction with opiate substitute treatment programmes has concentrated mainly on evaluating the properties of the service offered at treatment centres. Beyond the health-care context, these programmes need to become part of the patient's personal and social life for them to be followed. The purpose of this work is to offer a theoretical frame of reference for the construction of a scale for integral measurement of patient perception of opiate substitute treatments. A sample of 18 outpatient and residential patients in a buprenorphine pilot study, transferred from a methadone treatment programme, who showed indications of abandoning treatment, was given a semi-structured interview. The data analysis was done based on the Grounded Theory, and the dimensions were coded and material triangulated by three specialized analysts. The results show that patient perception of treatment with substitutes is aligned in five main dimensions, value to health, adaptation to daily life, stigma, treatment withdrawal and perceived effectiveness. These results are discussed and compared to those found in specialised literature.
Subject(s)
Attitude to Health , Buprenorphine/therapeutic use , Narcotics/therapeutic use , Substance-Related Disorders/rehabilitation , Humans , Patient Satisfaction , Pilot Projects , Residential Treatment , StereotypingABSTRACT
La medida de la percepción y satisfacción del tratamiento con los programas de sustitutivos opiáceos se ha centrado principalmente en evaluar las propiedades del servicio ofrecido en los centros de tratamiento. Más allá del contexto sanitario, estos programas requieren una implicación de la vida personal y social para su seguimiento. El objetivo de este trabajo es ofrecer un marco teórico de referencia para la construcción de una escala que mida de forma integral la percepción del tratamiento con sustitutivos opiáceos. Se ha utilizado una muestra de 18 pacientes de un estudio piloto con buprenorfina, transferido desde un programa de tratamiento con metadona, con indicación de retirada del tratamiento de régimen ambulatorio y residencial-, a los que se les realizó una entrevista semiestructurada. El análisis de los datos se ha realizado mediante la Teoría Fundamentada, y la codificación de las dimensiones y del material se ha triangulado a través de tres analistas especializados. Los resultados obtenidos señalan que la percepción del tratamiento con sustitutivos de los pacientes se vertebra sobre cinco dimensiones principales: el valor salud, la adaptación a la vida cotidiana, el estigma, la retirada del tratamiento y la eficacia percibida. Estos resultados son discutidos con los encontrados en la literatura especializada
The measurement of perception and satisfaction with opiate substitute treatment programmes has concentrated mainly on evaluating the properties of the service offered at treatment centres. Beyond the health-care context, these programmes need to become part of the patient's personal and social life for them to be followed. The purpose of this work is to offer a theoretical frame of reference for the construction of a scale for integral measurement of patient perception of opiate substitute treatments. A sample of 18 outpatient and residential patients in a buprenorphine pilot study, transferred from a methadone treatment programme, who showed indications of abandoning treatment, was given a semi-structured interview. The data analysis was done based on the Grounded Theory, and the dimensions were coded and material triangulated by three specialized analysts. The results show that patient perception of treatment with substitutes is aligned in five main dimensions, value to health, adaptation to daily life, stigma, treatment withdrawal and perceived effectiveness. These results are discussed and compared to those found in specialised literature
