Correction: Lifetime prevalence of novel psychoactive substances use among adults in the USA: Sociodemographic, mental health and illicit drug use correlates. Evidence from a population-based survey 2007-2014.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241056.].

Substance use among sexual minorities in the US - Linked to inequalities and unmet need for mental health treatment? Results from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).

BACKGROUND: Sexual minorities (SM) have specific substance use patterns and show elevated rates of substance use and substance use disorders. We investigated the potential association between substance use - including chemsex drug use - among SM adults in the United States (US) and social inequality, with an additional focus on disparities in unmet need for mental health treatment. METHODS: A secondary cross-sectional data analysis was performed using National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data from 2015 to 2017 and including 126,463 individuals with 8241 identifying as SM. Multivariable logistic regression models were implemented to quantify disparities in substance use, to calculate the effect of sociodemographic variables on substance use, and to examine associations with socioeconomic vulnerability. FINDINGS: SM showed higher odds of past-year substance use and lifetime chemsex drug use. All SM except for bisexual men exhibited higher odds of past-month binge drinking relative to heterosexuals. Bisexual women had higher odds for use of all analysed substances relative to heterosexual women. Being older and being a woman were shown to be protective factors. Urbanity, being uninsured, and unmet need for mental health treatment were associated with significantly higher odds of substance use, chemsex drug use and binge drinking. A link was established between drug use and health indicators, with higher odds of drug use for lower health ratings. SM experienced significantly higher levels of socioeconomic vulnerability. Higher vulnerability indices were associated with increased odds for drug use. INTERPRETATION: This study is among the first nationally representative samples that analysed the link between sociodemographic factors and unmet need for mental health treatment and substance use in SM. It emphasises the multifactorial aetiology of substance use exposure, highlights the underlying mechanisms for substance use among SM while underscoring disparities among them. Approaches tailored to SM subgroups may be needed to address comorbidities and negative health outcomes of substance use in the long-term. However, critical gaps in the literature remain and large-scale studies inclusive of SM individuals are needed to present causal links. FUNDING: Gillings Fellowship SYOG054 to ARU.

Lifetime prevalence of novel psychoactive substances use among adults in the USA: Sociodemographic, mental health and illicit drug use correlates. Evidence from a population-based survey 2007-2014.

INTRODUCTION: As Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) are conceived to mimic the effects of common illicit drugs, they represent a serious public health challenge due to the spike in intoxications and fatalities that have been linked to their use. This study aims to provide epidemiological data on NPS use in the USA, determining lifetime prevalence of use and defining demographic, socioeconomic, drug use patterns and mental health correlates. METHODS: This study uses secondary data from the US National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), which is a large cross-sectional population-based survey carried out annually in the USA. We analysed data from 2007-14 (N = 307,935) using bivariate descriptive analysis and binary logistic regression to calculate prevalence and determine factors underlying NPS consumption. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) with 95% CI's were calculated for a set of selected independent variables. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Our analysis NSDUH from 2007-14 highlights an increase in NPS use among adults, especially among white young men aged 18 to 25. Although the level of education of NPS users was relatively higher as compared to non-users, NPS users seemed to have a less wealthy situation. However, socioeconomic vulnerability appeared to be less important than mental health issues as a correlate to NPS use. NPS users seem to have followed a pattern of polysubstance use throughout their life, which involves both traditional illicit drugs and classic synthetic drugs. As NPS use seemed to be more prevalent among people having mental health issues, the rise in their use may have a negative impact on population mental health outcomes. CONCLUSION: Further comparative research on trends in NPS use and potential public health responses would be instrumental for developing appropriate health interventions, including drug checking, education for users and training for healthcare professionals working both within emergency wards and in/outpatient addiction and mental health services.

Opioid prescription patterns in Germany and the global opioid epidemic: Systematic review of available evidence.

INTRODUCTION: Opioids are one of the most important and effective drug classes in pain medicine with a key role in most medical fields. The increase of opioid prescription over time has led to higher numbers of prescription opioid misuse, abuse and opioid-related deaths in most developed OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries around the world. Whilst reliable data on the prevalence of opioid treatment is accessible for many countries, data on Germany specifically is still scarce. Considering Germany being the largest country in the European Union, the lack of evidence-based strategies from long-term studies is crucial. The aim of this work is to review and summarise relevant published literature on the prevalence of opioid prescription in Germany to adequately inform health policy strategies. METHODS: A systematic review of the epidemiology of opioid prescription in Germany was conducted, searching PubMed and Web of Science. Eligibility criteria were defined prior to conducting the search. Literature concerning Germany, published in English and German was included and the search was replicated by three independent researchers. Two levels of screening were employed. Disagreement was resolved by face-to-face discussion, leading to a consensus judgement. RESULTS: Our electronic search yielded 735 articles. Reviewing titles and abstracts yielded 19 relevant articles. Three authors examined each article's full text more closely and determined that twelve papers should be included. Of the twelve identified studies-with publication dates ranging from 1985 to 2016-six were retrospective cross-sectional studies and six were retrospective repeated-measures cross-sectional studies. Sample sizes ranged from 92,842 to ≈ 11,000,000 participants. Data sources of included studies showed vast heterogeneity. The reviewed literature suggested an increase in the number of patients with opioid prescriptions and defined daily doses of opioids per recipient in Germany over time. The majority of opioid prescriptions was used for patients with non-cancer pain. Opioid use was more common in older people, women and in the north of Germany. Fentanyl was shown to be the most prescribed strong opioid in outpatient settings in Germany, despite not being the first-line choice for chronic pain conditions. All data published before 2000-but none of the more recent studies-suggested an insufficient treatment of pain using opioids. There were no signs for a current opioid epidemic in Germany. CONCLUSIONS: Despite some limitations of the review and the heterogeneity of studies, it can be stated that the number of opioid prescriptions overall as well as the number of people receiving opioid treatment have increased over time. Most prescriptions were found to be for strong opioids and patients with non-cancer pain. Even though patterns of opioid prescription follow trends observed in other developed countries, there are no signs of an opioid epidemic in Germany. Therefore, this review could currently not find a need for urgent health policy interventions regarding opioid prescription practices. However, critical gaps in the literature remain and more research is needed to make more reliable judgements.

Mapping novel psychoactive substances policy in the EU: The case of Portugal, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Poland, the United Kingdom and Sweden.

INTRODUCTION: The rapid rise in trade and use of NPS and the lack of information concerning their potential toxicity pose serious challenges to public health authorities across the world. Policy measures towards NPS taken so far have a special focus on their legal status, while the implementation of a public health strategy seems to be still missing. The aim of this study is to perform a general assessment of NPS-related policy (including regulatory measures and public health strategies) implemented by six European countries: Portugal, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Poland, the United Kingdom and Sweden. METHODS: Six EU countries were included in this scoping review study. Drug policies (including legal responses and public health strategies) were analysed. UNODC drug policy classification system was used as a benchmark, while path dependency approach was used for data analysis; a net of inter-dependencies between international, EU and national policies was highlighted. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The countries included in this study can be placed in a wide spectrum according to their formulation of drug policy, from Portugal and the UK that have specific legal responses to NPS but have differently focused on harm reduction strategies at one end, to Sweden whose drug-free society goal is not translated into a specific regulation of NPS at the other end. CONCLUSION: The findings of the study reveal limited development towards harmonisation of national drug policies-particularly with regard to NPS. To tackle the challenge presented by NPS, EU Member states have formulated legislation and public health strategies independently. National approaches to NPS are therefore in line with their already existing drug policies, reflecting cultural values towards substance abuse and national political interests, while the homogenization at an international level has so far mostly been focused on law enforcement and drugs use preventive strategies.