Publications by authors named "Angela D Bryan"

Objective: Intimate relationships are important contexts for understanding individuals' substance use patterns and trajectories. Using a dyadic daily diary design reporting over 14 consecutive days, the present study examined the association between cannabis use, alcohol use, and momentary relationship satisfaction among adult couples METHOD: Eligible individuals on Prolific were invited to participate. We identified 33 couples where both partners participated.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Cannabis, commonly known for both therapeutic and intoxicating effects, is gaining accessibility on legal markets and traction as a potential alternative therapy for pain mediation, particularly in those suffering from chronic low back pain. However, the effectiveness in this population of legal market forms of cannabis, particularly commonly used edibles, is unknown.

Methods: Therefore, this study utilized a naturalistic prospective design where participants with chronic low back pain with intentions to initiate cannabis use for treatment were recruited and self-selected edible cannabis products containing varying amounts of delta- 9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: As cannabis legalization continues to spread across the United States, average Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentrations in recreational products have significantly increased, and no prior study has evaluated effective treatments to reduce cannabis use among high potency cannabis users. Some research has found that the non-intoxicating cannabinoid cannabidiol reduces cannabis use and cannabis use disorder-related symptoms, such as affective disturbance and withdrawal. Results of these studies are promising but limited to synthetic or isolated forms of cannabidiol.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: It is well-recognized that maintaining a regular yogic practice is associated with numerous physical and psychological health benefits. However, few studies have explored the possible psychological and neurophysiological mediators through which the component parts of yoga-ethics, breath regulation, postures, and meditation-work to produce salutary effects.

Purpose: To address this gap, we conducted a cluster randomized trial to test the following set of theory-based mechanisms: emotion regulation for ethics, self-control for breath regulation, discomfort and distress tolerance for postures, and mindfulness for meditation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Solitary drinking is a risky drinking pattern associated with increased substance use and psychosocial problems. However, very little is known regarding the associations between drinking alone and broader health status and behaviors.

Purpose: Accordingly, this study examined the relationship between health metrics and solitary drinking among individuals who currently drink (N = 99, 46.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In Colorado, both cannabis and psilocybin are legal and becoming more commonly used. However, there is almost no research detailing the public health concerns regarding negative outcomes (e.g.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Chronic, low-grade inflammation increases with aging, contributing to functional declines and diseases that reduce healthspan. Growing evidence suggests that transcripts from repetitive elements (RE) in the genome contribute to this "inflammaging" by stimulating innate immune activation, but evidence of RE-associated inflammation with aging in humans is limited. Here, we present transcriptomic and clinical data showing that RE transcript levels are positively related to gene expression of innate immune sensors, and to serum interleukin 6 (a marker of systemic inflammation), in a large group of middle-aged and older adults.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Despite strong evidence linking anti-fat bias directed toward others with markers of self-directed anti-fat bias, there is a dearth of theory-based research examining the cognitive pathways underlying this relationship, and existing bias-reduction intervention efforts have thus far been conducted with exclusive focus on one domain or the other. Cognitive dissonance (CD)-based interventions have been identified as viable for reducing anti-fat bias directed toward the self and others. However, no study has yet examined whether the effects of these domain-specific interventions (e.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cannabis has been touted for a host of pharmacological and therapeutic effects and users commonly report reduced symptoms of physical and mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, and chronic pain. While there is existing empirical evidence supporting these effects of cannabis use, little is known about the extent to which these effects result from pharmacological versus expectancy factors. We evaluated the associations between participants' cannabis expectancies and their acute self-reported reactions after using legal market forms of cannabis with varying levels of cannabidiol (CBD) and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in three domains: anxiety, depression, and pain.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) have varying pharmacological actions with differential effects on acute and extended affective states, incuding anxiety. We aimed to study these effects on anxiety in legal market forms of cannabis. This study makes use of a nonequivalent control group quasiexperimental design.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: The present study aimed to examine the acute effects of legal-market cannabis on regular cannabis users' subjective responses to exercise in a controlled laboratory environment.

Background: Given the stereotype that cannabis is associated with extreme sedentary behavior, there are concerns that cannabis legalization may exacerbate the US physical inactivity epidemic. However, despite these concerns, recent years have seen considerable public interest in the use of cannabis concurrently with exercise (e.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Given historical inequities in cannabis laws and policies, there is an obligation on the part of researchers and policy makers to actively work toward improving equity in cannabis research at a time when the field is rapidly expanding. We wish to propose a way forward for cannabis research that acknowledges this history of discrimination and misuse of institutional power and embraces equity and inclusion. This article provides a brief perspective on historical drug policy, recent legalization trends that have disproportionately benefitted some groups over others, and the repercussions of those trends for the cannabis research enterprise.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The increasing availability of legal-market cannabis products has raised many questions about potential harms and benefits of increased use. In particular, concerns have been raised about the possible negative impact of cannabis use on behavioral determinants of obesity and chronic disease, including diet and exercise. However, previous research is mixed and has largely relied on cross-sectional survey data and coarse measurements of cannabis use, underscoring the need for more rigorous research designs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Given the frequent co-occurrence between alcohol use and sexual behavior among adolescents, alcohol interventions may play a role in helping prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in this age group. Psychotherapy "common factors" are one potential active ingredient in intervention efficacy. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of a critical common factor, adolescent: provider connectedness, on STI risk reduction at 3 months post-intervention.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Considerable research has examined how involvement in gay-affiliated communities is associated with sexual health behaviours in sexual minority men (i.e., gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men), yet findings in this domain are often contradictory and inconclusive.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The use of cannabis with various forms of exercise (e.g., running) has received increased media attention in recent years, contradicting the popular stereotype that cannabis is associated with sedentary behavior.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Maximal aerobic exercise capacity [maximal oxygen consumption (V̇o)] is one of the strongest predictors of morbidity and mortality. Aerobic exercise training can increase V̇o, but inter-individual variability is marked and unexplained physiologically. The mechanisms underlying this variability have major clinical implications for extending human healthspan.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: This study compared two mechanisms by which mindfulness may reduce hazardous drinking: effortful control and craving, "top-down" and "bottom-up" processes, respectively. These relationships were compared in a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial of mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) versus relapse prevention (RP) treatments to explore if they differed based on more explicit versus subtle mindfulness training.

Method: A total of 182 individuals (48.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Because adolescents are unlikely to seek, receive, or complete treatment for alcohol and/or cannabis misuse, it is important to enhance the lasting impact of clinical contacts when they do occur. Adolescents (N = 506; 72.5% Hispanic) were randomized to motivational interviewing (MI) versus alcohol and cannabis education (ACE).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We estimated the prevalence of past 30-day cannabis use, evaluated reasons for use, and identified individual-level factors associated with cannabis use among cancer survivors before (2019) and during (2020 and 2021) the COVID-19 pandemic. Cancer survivors, aged 18 years and older, were identified from the 2019 (n = 8185), 2020 (n = 11 084), and 2021 (n = 12 248) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Prevalence of past 30-day cannabis use among survivors held steady through the pandemic (8.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: This study compared the efficacy of mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) with relapse prevention (RP) on reducing alcohol consumption. Secondary, exploratory aims assessed moderation of treatment effects by sex and cannabis use.

Method: A total of 182 individuals (48.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Cannabis concentrate products contain more of the intoxicating cannabinoid, tetrahydrocannabinol, than flower products and, thus, may produce greater harm. Indeed, concentrate use is associated with greater cannabis dependence and problems (e.g.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Non-Hispanic Black Americans experience the highest, and most rapidly increasing, rates of obesity. Despite evidence that this is at least somewhat related to poor diet quality, we have yet to identify effective interventions for improving diet quality long-term. Restrictive diets can be ineffective and often harmful.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF