Empatía, estilos de afrontamiento y actitudes hacia el consumo como factores de protección del consumo intensivo de alcohol y el policonsumo en la adolescencia / Empathy, coping styles and attitudes towards consumption as protective factors for heavy alcohol consumption and polydrug use in adolescence

Desde el enfoque del desarrollo positivo adolescente cobra especial importancia la promoción de recursos personales de protección frente a algunos riesgos como el consumo de drogas. El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar la influencia de la empatía, los estilos de afrontamiento y las actitudes hacia el consumo respecto al uso intensivo de alcohol y el policonsumo en 799 estudiantes. Los resultados del análisis de regresión revelaron que el afrontamiento improductivo predijo un mayor consumo intensivo de alcohol, mientras que la actitud de rechazo ante el ofrecimiento de alcohol y la actitud de admiración hacia personas no usuarias de drogas institucionalizadas se asociaron con un menor hábito de consumo. Con relación al policonsumo, tanto la empatía afectiva, como el afrontamiento activo, la actitud contraria y de rechazo al consumo de drogas, así como la actitud de admiración hacia personas no usuarias de drogas institucionalizadas predijeron un menor uso simultaneo de alcohol y cannabis. Estos hallazgos aportan nuevas evidencias que podrían ser de utilidad para orientar intervenciones promotoras de la salud a edades tempranas (AU)

From a positive youth development perspective, the promotion of personal protective resources against certain risks such as drug consumption is especially relevant. The objective of this study was to analyze the influence of empathy, coping styles, and attitudes related to consumption with respect to binge drinking and polyconsumption in a sample of 799 students. The results of a regression analysis revealed that unproductive coping predicted binge drinking, while attitudes such as turning down a drink and admiration of non-users of institutionalized drugs were associated with a lower consumption habit. As for polyconsumption, affective empathy, active coping, a negative attitude to, and the rejection of drug consumption, as well as the admiration of non-users of institutionalized drugs, predicted a lower simultaneous use of alcohol and cannabis. These findings offer new evidence that may be useful in guiding interventions to promote healthy habits at early ages (AU)

Bath salts and polyconsumption: in search of drug-drug interactions.

BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE: Polydrug use is a widespread phenomenon, especially among adolescents and young adults. Synthetic cathinones are frequently consumed in combination with other drugs of abuse. However, there is very little information regarding the consequences of this specific consumption pattern. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this review is to introduce this topic and highlight the gaps in the existing literature. In three different sections, we focus on specific interactions of synthetic cathinones with alcohol, cannabinoids, and the stimulants nicotine and cocaine. We then dedicate a section to the existence of sex and gender differences in the effects of synthetic cathinones and the long-term psychophysiological consequences of adolescent and prenatal exposure to these drugs. MAJOR FINDINGS: Epidemiological studies, case reports, and results obtained in animal models point to the existence of pharmacological and pharmacokinetic interactions between synthetic cathinones and other drugs of abuse. This pattern of polyconsumption can cause the potentiation of negative effects, and the dissociation between objective and subjective effects can increase the combined use of the drugs and the risk of toxicity leading to serious health problems. Certain animal studies indicate a higher vulnerability and effect of cathinones in females. In humans, most of the users are men and case reports show long-term psychotic symptoms after repeated use. CONCLUSIONS: The co-use of synthetic cathinones and the other drugs of abuse analyzed indicates potentiation of diverse effects including dependence and addiction, neurotoxicity, and impaired cognition and emotional responses. The motivations for and effects of synthetic cathinone use appear to be influenced by sex/gender. The long-term consequences of their use by adolescents and pregnant women deserve further investigation.

Prevalence of consumption of psychoactive substances amongst dockers.

BACKGROUND: Dockers in the port facilities are exposed to significant psychosocial risks (stress, suffering at work, etc.) related to heavy organisational, environmental, physical, chemical constraints, etc. These workers are particularly affected by the consumption of psychoactive substances because of the dangerousness and complexity of their work. To what extent can these numerous occupational risks be at the origin of behaviour favouring the consumption of psychoactive substances? However, in our country no study has investigated toxic habits in this population. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of the use and misuse of psychoactive substances amongst dockers, and to appreciate the poly-consumption according to socio-demographic and occupational characteristics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted amongst 665 dockers. The interview took place at the occupational health service and lasted between 15 and 20 minutes for each person respecting the confidentiality. The questionnaire covered socio-demographic characteristics, socio-professional characteristics, and toxic habits (tobacco, alcohol, cannabis and others psychotropic substances). The misuse was assessed by specific tests: Fagerström test for tobacco smoking, Cannabis Abuse Screening Test (CAST) and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). RESULTS: The prevalence of use was 30.5% for tobacco smoking, 9.1% for cannabis smoking, and 16.5% for alcohol consumption. The prevalence of toxic habits was significantly higher in handlers than in machinery operators: tobacco smoking (39.7% vs. 27%; p = 0.002), snuff tobacco (12.5% vs. 4.6%; p = 0.001), hookah (7.6% vs. 2%; p = 0.001), cannabis smoking (20.6% vs. 4.5%; p = 0.001) and alcohol consumption (22.3% vs. 14.3%; p = 0.019). Amongst consumers, the prevalence of dependence or misuse was 45.3% for tobacco smoking, 56.7% for cannabis smoking and 44.5% for alcohol consumption. Fifty-two point five per cent had no toxic habit, 36.7% had one toxic habit, 9.9% two toxic habits, and 0.9% three toxic habits. The most frequent associations were tobacco-alcohol (6.5%), and tobacco-cannabis (3%). CONCLUSIONS: Occupational health professionals have to play a key role in raising awareness and fighting against consumption of psychoactive substances amongst dockers.

Consumo de drogas: reporte por tarjeta de enfermedad de declaración obligatoria. Municipio Plaza de la Revolución / Drugs consumption: Report on compulsory disease declaration card

Introducción:El consumo de sustancias psicoactivas es considerado un serio problema por su impacto negativo sobre la salud, la economía, la convivencia familiar y social. Objetivo: Identificar las características comportamentales relacionadas con el consumo de sustancias psicoactivas en pacientes del municipio Plaza de la Revolución. Material y Métodos: Investigación descriptiva de corte transversal en los 71 pacientes residentes en el municipio, reportados por tarjeta EDO durante el período 2013- 2015 por trastornos relacionados con el consumo de sustancias psicoactivas. Se aplicó una encuesta y una entrevista semiestructurada, previo consentimiento informado de los pacientes. Resultados: El 87.4 por ciento de los encuestados pertenecía al sexo masculino donde primaron personas en edades entre 20 y 29 años. La mayoría de las féminas eran adolescentes contando con una menor de solo 13 años. Primó el diagnóstico de abuso a múltiples sustancias siendo la marihuana, el alcohol y los fármacos los más usados. Los cuadros de intoxicación aguda fueron en su mayoría provocados por psicofármacos. Los monoconsumidores menores de 21 años prefirieron los cannabinoides sintéticos, los de mayor edad el crack. Elevada prevalencia de tabaquismo en los pacientes con incremento del consumo de cigarrillos cuando ingerían bebidas alcohólicas. Los encuestados tenían escasa percepción de riesgo del uso de la marihuana. El mayor número de reportes fue realizado por el Departamento de salud mental del municipio. Conclusiones: Teniendo en cuenta el consumo de múltiples sustancias encabezadas por la marihuana así como el uso de nuevas drogas de síntesis fundamentalmente en adolescentes y adultos jóvenes se trazaron estrategias por el equipo de salud mental(AU)

Introduction: The consumption of psychoactive substances is considered a serious problem because of its negative impact on health, economy, and family and social coexistence. Objective: To identify the behavioral characteristics related to the consumption of psychoactive substances in patients of Plaza de la Revolución Municipality. Material and methods: A descriptive cross-sectional investigation was conducted in 71 patients who live in the municipality, and were reported by compulsory disease declaration cards presenting disorders related to the consumption of psychoactive substances during the 2013-2015 period. A survey and a semi-structured interview were both applied, with a previous informed consent given by the patients. Results: the 87 percent of the inquired people were male, most of them aged 20 - 29 years. Most women were adolescents, including an underage who was only 13 years old. The aspect of great importance was the diagnosis of multiple substance abuse, being Marijuana, alcohol, and medications the most used ones. The cases of acute intoxication were mainly caused by psychopharmaceutical drugs. Monoconsumers younger than 21 years of age preferred the synthetic cannabinoids, and the older ones preferred the crack. There was a high prevalence of smoking in patients with increased cigarette consumption when they were drinking alcohol. The inquired people had a little risk perception of using Marijuana. The greatest number of reports was carried out by the Department of Mental Health of the municipality. Conclusions: Some strategies were developed by the mental health team, considering the consumption of multiple substances headed by Marijuana, as well as the use of new synthetic drugs which were mainly consumed by adolescents and young adults(AU)

Alcohol and cocaine co-consumption in two European cities assessed by wastewater analysis.

The quantitative determination of urinary biomarkers in raw wastewater has emerged in recent years as a promising tool for estimating the consumption of illicit drugs, tobacco and alcohol in a population and for comparing local and temporal trends. In this study, a three-year monitoring campaign (2012-2014) was conducted to compare alcohol and cocaine use in two European cities (Santiago de Compostela, Spain, and Milan, Italy) by wastewater analysis. Ethyl sulphate and benzoylecgonine were used, respectively, as biomarkers of ethanol and cocaine consumption and cocaethylene as an indicator of co-consumption of both substances. Biomarkers were measured using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and concentrations were converted to rates of consumption using specific correction factors. Results were statistically compared in terms of geographic and temporal tendencies. Alcohol intake was significantly higher in Santiago than in Milan (13.6L versus 5.1L ethanol/1000 people day, averages). Cocaine use was higher in Milan than in Santiago de Compostela (800 versus 632 mg/1000 people day, averages). A significant higher consumption of both alcohol and cocaine was observed during the weekends (~23-75% more than on weekdays) in both cities. In terms of years, slight changes were observed, but no clear trends as representative of the whole year could be identified because of the limited number of days sampled. Co-consumption was evaluated using the cocaethylene/benzoylecgonine ratio, which was higher during the weekend in both cities (58% in Santiago and 47% in Milan over the non-weekend day means), indicating a greater co-consumption when cocaine is used as a recreational drug. Wastewater-based epidemiology gave estimates of alcohol and cocaine use in agreement with previous wastewater studies and with recent European surveillance and prevalence data, and weekly profiles of use and preferential patterns of consumption could be plot.