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Use of ecstasy and other psychoactive substances among school-attending adolescents in Taiwan: national surveys 2004-2006.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: With the backdrop of a global ecstasy epidemic, this study sought to examine the trend, correlates, and onset sequence of ecstasy use among adolescents in Taiwan, where a well-established gateway drug such as marijuana is much less popular. METHODS: A multistage probability survey of school-attending adolescents in grades 7, 9, 10, and 12, aged 11-19 years, was conducted in 2004, 2005, and 2006. A self-administered anonymous questionnaire elicited response rates ranging from 94.3% to 96.6%. The sample sizes were 18232 respondents in 2004, 17986 in 2005, and 17864 in 2006. RESULTS: In terms of lifetime prevalence and incidence, ecstasy and ketamine by and large appeared as the first and second commonly used illegal drugs, respectively, among middle (grades 7 and 9) and high school students (grades 10 and 12) during the 3-year survey period; however, this order was reversed in the middle school-aged students starting in 2006. Having sexual experience, tobacco use, and betel nut use were factors consistently associated with the onset of ecstasy use across years. The majority of ecstasy users had been involved in polydrug use, such as the use of ketamine (41.4%-53.5%), marijuana (12.7%-18.7%), and methamphetamine (4.2%-9.5%). CONCLUSION: From 2004 to 2006, a decline was noted in the prevalence and incidence rate of ecstasy, a leading illegal drug used by school-attending adolescents in Taiwan since the early 2000s. The emerging ketamine use trend may warrant more attention in the future.

SUBMITTER: Chen WJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2636802 | biostudies-other | 2009

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Use of ecstasy and other psychoactive substances among school-attending adolescents in Taiwan: national surveys 2004-2006.

Chen Wei J WJ Fu Tsung-Chieh TC Ting Te-Tien TT Huang Wei-Lun WL Tang Guang-Mang GM Hsiao Chuhsing Kate CK Chen Chuan-Yu CY

BMC public health 20090121

<h4>Background</h4>With the backdrop of a global ecstasy epidemic, this study sought to examine the trend, correlates, and onset sequence of ecstasy use among adolescents in Taiwan, where a well-established gateway drug such as marijuana is much less popular.<h4>Methods</h4>A multistage probability survey of school-attending adolescents in grades 7, 9, 10, and 12, aged 11-19 years, was conducted in 2004, 2005, and 2006. A self-administered anonymous questionnaire elicited response rates ranging ...[more]

PMID: 19159468

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Project description:Use of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) has posed a global threat to public health and the security of the population. As of December 2019, the NPS items identified in total have outnumbered by three to one the controlled substances listed in the 1961 and 1971 UN Drug Conventions. However, most of these NPS have not been scheduled by the United Nations because of their easy modification on the chemical structures to shun control. Currently, the scheduling and control of NPS is mostly at the national level and a rational scheduling of NPS by objective assessments is essential but often lacking. To rationally schedule NPS, the NPS misuse situation was firstly estimated with the Taiwanese Substance Misuse Monitoring and Reporting Systems (SMMRS) from 2006 through 2019. Then, the assessment of drug-related harms with an expert Delphi procedure for drug scheduling was performed. The epidemiological analysis revealed that among 37 substances commonly misused in Taiwan, heroin posed the highest risk, followed by (meth)amphetamine and ketamine. Of note, misuse of NPS, such as ketamine, synthetic cannabinoids (JWHs, AM-2201, XJR-11), synthetic cathinones (MDPV, bk-MDMA, 4 -MMCetc.), phenethylamines (PMMA, FMA, 2C-B, 2C-E etc.), piperazines (BZP, TFMPP) and tryptamines (5-MeO-DIPT) has been on the rise. Though perceived drug-related harms differed among experts with different professional backgrounds, the differences were not significant. Four dimensions of drug-related harms- addiction, misuse, social harm and physical harm- integrated from Nutt's model and scheduling criteria of Taiwan's Statute for the Prevention and Control of Illicit Drugs (SPCID), were further divided into 11 indicators and applied to assess harms of the 37 substances. Among the 11 indicators that corresponded to the four dimensions, 7 had significant prediction capabilities. Additionally, prevalence of misuse nationally was an important predictor of harm assessment. These indicators of harm assessment of drug misuse can help develop a proper scheduling system for the management of controlled/illicit drugs. In conclusions, drug scheduling is the first step toward proper management of drug use problems. Facing the threats of NPS, it is imperative to implement a rational and effective scheduling system for appropriate management. This study provides a mechanism to scrutinize, and improve, the current evaluation process for NPS scheduling.

Project description:ObjectivesTo evaluate the effectiveness of the online Climate Schools: Ecstasy and Emerging Drugs module over 2 years, and examine the impact of intervention dose on outcomes.DesignCluster randomised controlled trial.SettingSecondary schools in Australia.Participants1126 students (aged 14.9 years) from 11 schools.InterventionFive schools were randomly allocated to the four-lesson internet-based Climate Schools: Ecstasy and Emerging Drugs module. This universal intervention uses cartoon storylines to deliver harm-minimisation information about ecstasy and new psychoactive substances (NPS). It was delivered during health education classes over 4 weeks. Six schools were randomised to the control group (health education as usual). Participants were not blinded to intervention allocation.Outcomes measuresStudents completed self-report surveys at baseline, post-test, 6, 12 and 24 months post-baseline. Intentions to use ecstasy and NPS (including synthetic cannabis and synthetic stimulants), knowledge about ecstasy and NPS and lifetime use of ecstasy and NPS were assessed. This paper reports the results at 24 months post-baseline.AnalysisMixed effects regressions were conducted to analyse intervention effects from baseline to 24 months. Post hoc analyses using Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting compared controls with students who: i) completed all four lessons ('full dose') and ii) partially completed the intervention (≤three lessons, 'incomplete dose').ResultsPrimary analyses found that controls were significantly more likely to intend on using synthetic cannabis compared with intervention group students (OR=3.56, p=0.01). Results from the weighted analyses indicated that controls reported significantly lower knowledge about ecstasy (p=0.001) and NPS (p=0.04) compared with the full-dose group. No significant differences were observed between the incomplete dose and control groups.ConclusionsThe online intervention was effective in modifying students' intentions to use synthetic cannabis up to 24 months; however, this study highlights the importance of delivering prevention programmes in full to maximise student outcomes.Trial registration numberACTRN12613000708752.

Project description:A lifestyle with erratic eating patterns and habits predisposes youngsters to obesity. Through a two-phase feasibility study among Indian students living in the Delhi area, we longitudinally examined the following: (1) the daily eating-fasting cycles of students (N = 34) in school and college using smartphones as they transition from high school (aged 13-15 years; nIX = 13) to higher secondary school (HSSS; 16-18 years; nXII = 9) to their first year (FY) of college (18-19 years; nFC = 12); and (2) daily activity-rest cycles and light-dark exposure of 31 higher secondary school students (HSSS) using actigraphy. In phase 1, students' food data were analyzed for temporal details of eating events and observable differences in diet composition, such as an energy-dense diet (fast food (FF)), as confounding factors of circadian health. Overall, the mean eating duration in high school, higher secondary and FY college students ranged from 14.1 to 16.2h. HSSS exhibited the shortest night fasting. Although FY college students exhibited the highest fast food percentage (FF%), a positive correlation between body mass index (BMI) and FF% was observed only among HSSS. Furthermore, the body weight of HSSS was significantly higher, indicating that FF, untimely eating and reduced night fasting were important obesity-associated factors in adolescents. Reduced night fasting duration was also related to shorter sleep in HSSS. Therefore, food data were supplemented with wrist actigraphy, i.e., activity-rest data, in HSSS. Actigraphy externally validated the increased obesogenic consequences of deregulated eating rhythms in HSSS. CamNtech motion watches were used to assess the relationship between disturbed activity cycles of HSSS and other circadian clock-related rhythms, such as sleep. Less than 50% of Indian HSSS slept 6 hours or more per night. Seven of 31 students remained awake throughout the night, during which they had more than 20% of their daily light exposure. Three nonparametric circadian rhythm analysis (NPCRA) variables revealed circadian disruption of activity in HSSS. The present study suggests that inappropriate timing and quality of food and sleep disturbances are important determinants of circadian disruptions in adolescents attending school.

Project description:ObjectivesTo evaluate the trend of dyslipidaemia from 1996 to 2006 and examine its relationship with weight status among adolescents in Taiwan.Design2 cross-sectional surveys were conducted in 1996 and 2006.SettingThe junior high schools in Taipei.ParticipantsAfter multistage sampling, total of 1500 and 1283 junior high school students were chosen in 1996 and 2006. After excluding missing data, a total of 1353 (676 boys and 677 girls) and 1203 (585 boys and 618 girls) children were included in the final analyses in 1996 and 2006.Outcome measuresAnthropometric measures as body height and weight were measured, and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Blood lipid profiles as total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were measured.ResultsFrom 1996 to 2006, the prevalence of dyslipidaemia and hypercholesterolaemia significantly increased from 13% (95% CI 11.3% to 15.0%) to 22.3% (95% CI 20.0% to 24.7%) and 6.2% (95% CI 5.0% to 7.6%) to 13.8% (95% CI 11.9% to 15.9%), respectively. The prevalence of hypertriglyceridaemia and low HDL-C dyslipidaemia increased from 3% (95% CI 1.8% to 4.5%) to 4.3% (95% CI 2.8% to 6.2%) and 6.5% (95% CI 4.8% to 8.6%) to 11.6% (95% CI 9.1% to 14.5%), with significance seen only in boys. When compared with normal weight participants, overweight boys and girls faced a 2-fold and 1.6-fold increased risk of dyslipidaemia, respectively, in the 2006 study. The increased risk of low HDL-C dyslipidaemia for overweight participants was 2.6-fold and 7.2-fold in boys and girls, respectively. In 2006, each unit increment of BMI was associated with 28%, 13% and 13% risk of hypertriglyceridaemia, low HDL-C and dyslipidaemia for boys, and 25% risk of low HDL-C dyslipidaemia in girls.ConclusionsThe prevalence of dyslipidaemia had increased significantly for boys and girls in normal weight and overweight adolescents. Early screening of dyslipidaemia and weight intervention programmes in adolescents will be the key to prevent dyslipidaemia and cardiovascular-related comorbidities.

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Use of ecstasy and other psychoactive substances among school-attending adolescents in Taiwan: national surveys 2004-2006.

Publications

Use of ecstasy and other psychoactive substances among school-attending adolescents in Taiwan: national surveys 2004-2006.

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