Assessing gender disparities in excess mortality of heroin or cocaine users compared to the general population.

Background: Previous analyses of excess mortality in drug users compared with the general population have almost always been based on mortality ratios, reporting much higher figures in women than men. This study tests the hypothesis that being a heroin or cocaine user adds more death risk in women than men in Spain.

Methods: A retrospective cohort of 15,305 heroin users (HUs) and 11,905 cocaine users (CUs) aged 15-49 starting drug treatment in 1997-2007 was recruited in Spain and followed until December 2008 to determine vital status and cause of death.

Enforcing regulations on alcohol sales and use as universal environmental prevention.

The informal social control over alcohol consumption that was traditional in Southern European countries has weakened. At the same time there is an increase in binge drinking and drunkenness among young people in Spain. To mitigate this problem, regulations on alcohol and driving and restrictions on the sale and consumption of alcohol have been adopted.

Job Loss, Unemployment and the Incidence of Hazardous Drinking during the Late 2000s Recession in Europe among Adults Aged 50-64 Years.

Background: To estimate the incidence of hazardous drinking in middle-aged people during an economic recession and ascertain whether individual job loss and contextual changes in unemployment influence the incidence rate in that period.

Methods: Longitudinal study based on two waves of the SHARE project (Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe). Individuals aged 50-64 years from 11 European countries, who were not hazardous drinkers at baseline (n = 7,615), were selected for this study.

Injury-Related Mortality Over 12 Years in a Cohort of Patients with Alcohol Use Disorders: Higher Mortality Among Young People and Women.

Background: The goal of this study was to estimate excess death due to external causes among 18- to 64-year-olds with alcohol use disorder (AUD) who were treated at public outpatient treatment centers, and the time elapsed from treatment initiation to death.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective longitudinal study among 7,012 outpatients aged 18 to 64 years who began treatment for AUD between 1997 and 2007. Deaths due to external causes (intentional and unintentional injuries) were monitored until the end of 2008.

Gender differences in hazardous drinking among middle-aged in Europe: the role of social context and women's empowerment.

Background: The aim of this study was to estimate the magnitude of gender differences in hazardous drinking among middle-aged people and to analyse whether these differences are associated with contextual factors, such as public policies or socioeconomic factors.

Methods: Cross-sectional design. The study population included 50- to 64-year-old residents of 16 European countries who participated in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe project conducted in 2010-12 (n = 26 017).

[Health and social harm related alcohol].

Alcohol affects the brain and most organs and systems, and its use is related to a large number of health problems. These include mental, neurological, digestive, cardiovascular, endocrine, metabolic, perinatal, cancerous, and infectious diseases, as well as intentional and non-intentional injuries. Physiopathological mechanisms still remain unraveled, though direct toxicity of ethanol and its metabolites, nutritional deficit and intestinal microbial endotoxin absorption have been suggested, all of which would be further modulated by use patterns and genetic and environmental factors.

Association between stricter alcohol advertising regulations and lower hazardous drinking across European countries.

Aims: To analyse the association between alcohol advertising restrictions and the prevalence of hazardous drinking among people aged 50-64 years in 16 European countries, taking into account both individual and contextual-level factors (alcohol taxation, availability, etc.).

Design: Cross-sectional study based on SHARE project surveys.

[Indicated prevention of problematic drug consumption in adolescents of barcelona, Spain].

Background: The Drugs Advice Service (SOD in its Catalan acronym) in Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) provides an Information and Guidance Program (IGP) for teenagers, and an Alternative Measures Program (AMP) targeting minors fined for consumption / possession of illegal drugs in public spaces. This study describes these programs and compares the profiles of their users.

Methods: Cross-sectional descriptive study of 1,010 people discharged from the two SOD programs in 2008-10 after screening for psychiatric disorders and addiction and an extended brief intervention for subjects without pathology.

[Impact of alcohol use disorder on mortality: are there age and gender differences?].

Objectives: To estimate excess mortality in patients with an alcohol use disorder and to calculate the population-based impact attributable to this disorder, with emphasis on differences according to gender and age.

Methods: We carried out a longitudinal study of a dynamic retrospective cohort in which 7,109 patients (76.5% men) aged 18-64 years who started medical day treatment between 1997 and 2006 were recruited.