Dataset Information

Increases in methamphetamine use among heroin treatment admissions in the United States, 2008-17.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Due to their small sample sizes, geographic specificity and limited examination of socio-demographic characteristics, recent studies of methamphetamine use among people using heroin in the United States are limited in their ability to identify national and regional trends and to characterize populations at risk for using heroin and methamphetamine. This study aimed to examine trends and correlates of methamphetamine use among heroin treatment admissions in the United States.

Design

Longitudinal analysis of data from the 2008 to 2017 Treatment Episode Data Set. Descriptive statistics, trend analyses and multivariable logistic regression were used to examine characteristics associated with methamphetamine use among heroin treatment admissions.

Setting

United States.

Participants

Treatment admissions of people aged ? 12 years whose primary substance of use is heroin.

Measurements

Primary measurement was heroin treatment admissions involving methamphetamine. Secondary measurements were demographics of sex, age, race/ethnicity, US census region, living arrangement and employment status.

Findings

The percentage of primary heroin treatment admissions reporting methamphetamine use increased each year from 2.1% in 2008 to 12.4% in 2017, a relative percentage increase of 490% and an annual percentage change (APC) of 23.4% (P < 0.001). During the study period, increases were seen among males and females and among all demographic and geographic groups examined. Among primary heroin treatment admissions reporting methamphetamine use in 2017, 47.1% reported injecting, 46.0% reported smoking, 5.1% reporting snorting and 1.8% reported oral/other as their usual route of methamphetamine use.

Conclusions

Methamphetamine use among heroin treatment admissions in the United States increased from one in 50 primary heroin treatment admissions in 2008 to one in 8 admissions in 2017.

SUBMITTER: Jones CM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6982538 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Increases in methamphetamine use among heroin treatment admissions in the United States, 2008-17.

Jones Christopher M CM Underwood Natasha N Compton Wilson M WM

Addiction (Abingdon, England) 20191024 2

<h4>Background and aims</h4>Due to their small sample sizes, geographic specificity and limited examination of socio-demographic characteristics, recent studies of methamphetamine use among people using heroin in the United States are limited in their ability to identify national and regional trends and to characterize populations at risk for using heroin and methamphetamine. This study aimed to examine trends and correlates of methamphetamine use among heroin treatment admissions in the United ...[more]

PMID: 31503384

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Polydrug use may challenge effective treatment for substance use disorders. We evaluate whether secondary substance use modifies the association between treatment and primary drug use among primary heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine (MA) users. METHODS:Data were obtained from prospective cohort studies on people who use illicit drugs (PWUD) in California, USA. Using repeated monthly data on self-reported secondary substance use (heroin, cocaine, MA, alcohol or marijuana; ?1day in a month), primary drug use (?1day in a month), and treatment participation, collected via timeline follow-back, we fitted generalized linear mixed multiple regression models controlling for potential confounders to examine the interactions between treatment and secondary substance use on the odds of primary heroin, cocaine and MA use, respectively. RESULTS:Included in our study were 587 primary heroin, 444 primary MA, and 501 primary cocaine users, with a median of 32.4, 13.3 and 18.9 years of follow-up, respectively. In the absence of secondary substance use, treatment was strongly associated with decreased odds of primary drug use (adjusted odds ratios (aORs): 0.25, 95% CI: 0.24, 0.27, 0.07 (0.06, 0.08), and 0.07 (0.07, 0.09)) for primary heroin, MA, and cocaine users, respectively. Secondary substance use of any kind moderated these associations (0.82 (0.78, 0.87), 0.25 (0.21, 0.30) and 0.53 (0.45, 0.61), respectively), and these findings were consistent for each type of secondary substance considered. Moreover, we observed different associations in terms of direction and magnitude between secondary substance use and primary drug use during off-treatment periods across substance types. CONCLUSION:This study demonstrates secondary substance use moderates the temporal associations between treatment and primary drug use among primary heroin, MA and cocaine users. Disparate patterns of polydrug use require careful measurement and analysis to inform targeted treatment for polydrug users.

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Dataset Information

Increases in methamphetamine use among heroin treatment admissions in the United States, 2008-17.

Background and aims

Design

Setting

Participants

Measurements

Findings

Conclusions

Publications

Increases in methamphetamine use among heroin treatment admissions in the United States, 2008-17.

Similar Datasets

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