Understanding Alcohol and Illicit Drug Use in Young College Students: A Qualitative Work from India Based on Social Norms Theory.

Background And Objectives: Substance use among young college students in India poses public health challenges. This study seeks to uncover the motivation behind alcohol and illicit drug consumption, applying social norms theory.

Methods: This qualitative research utilized the framework method to analyze data from 14 college students (18-24 years) across various disciplines.

Personality in Alcohol and Opioid Use Disorder: A Multiphasic Personality Questionnaire Study.

Background: This study explored the relationship between personality attributes and substance use disorder (SUD). Research has identified specific personality dimensions, such as neuroticism, psychoticism, antisocial personality traits, paranoia, and anxiety, as contributing factors on the way to the initiation, continuation, and relapse of SUD.

Purpose: To explore this connection, we examined the personality profiles of subjects with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and opioid use disorder (OUD).

Effectiveness of digital screening and brief intervention for alcohol misuse among college students: A state-wide cluster randomized trial from India.

Background: Alcohol misuse is prevalent among college students globally, including in India. Digital screening and brief interventions (DSBI) promise to address this issue. This study assesses DSBI's effectiveness in a state-wide cluster randomized trial among college students in India.

Acceptability and feasibility of a brief intervention to enhance resilience among young people and their families in India and Kenya.

Enhancing resilience is one way to prevent future mental illnesses and encourage recovery in the face of adversity. To develop and test the acceptability and feasibility (A&F) of a combined family and individual resilience intervention in two rural/semi-rural low-income settings in India and Kenya. We developed a five-session intervention including Life Skills Education (LSE) and a model of family resiliency.

Understanding pregabalin misuse and dependence: Insights from a North Indian addiction treatment center.

Background: Pregabalin, approved for various medical conditions, has shown increasing misuse potential globally. However, limited research exists on pregabalin dependence in India. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of pregabalin dependence among individuals seeking substance use disorder (SUD) treatment in North India.

Dual diagnosis and their care pathways for help-seeking: A multicenter study from India.

Background: Understanding pathways to dual diagnosis (DD) care will help organize DD services and facilitate training and referral across healthcare sectors.

Aim: The aim of our study was to characterize the stepwise healthcare and other contacts among patients with DD, compare the characteristics of the first contact persons with common mental disorder (CMD) versus severe mental illness (SMI), and estimate the likelihood of receiving appropriate DD treatment across levels of contacts.

Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive study in eight Indian centers included newly enrolled patients with DD between April 2022 and February 2023.

Exploring help-seeking pathways and disparities in substance use disorder care in India: A multicenter cross-sectional study.

Background: Substance use disorders (SUDs) are among the leading causes of morbidity in the population. In low- and medium-income countries like India, there is a wide treatment gap for SUD. A multicentric study on the care pathways for SUD in India can help to understand service provision, service utilization, and challenges to improve existing SUD care in India.

Trends of Buprenorphine Prescribing for Opioid Dependence Before, and During the Early and Later Part of the COVID-19: A Study from a Large Publicly-Funded Opioid Agonist Treatment Services in India.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the availability and access to medications for opioid dependence (OD). We examined the monthly trends in new buprenorphine/naloxone (BNX) treatment episodes, number of clinical visits for BNX, BNX dispensed per person, and BNX prescription over 56-month, which included pre-pandemic, during early, and later part of pandemic (Jan 2017 - Aug 2022).

Methods: Research data were collected from the pharmacy database of a large publicly funded treatment center in India.

Neurocognitive Functions After 6-Month Buprenorphine (Naloxone)-Based Opioid Agonist Maintenance Treatment: A Controlled Prospective Study.

Background: Medications for opioid use disorder (OUD) may influence neurocognitive functions. Inadequate power, confounders, and practice effects limit the validity of the existing research. We examined the change in cognitive functions in patients with OUD at 6-month buprenorphine (naloxone) posttreatment and compared the cognitive performance of the buprenorphine-treated group with control subjects.

Neurocognitive Dysfunctions in People with Concurrent Cannabis Use and Opioid Dependence: A Cross-Sectional, Controlled Study.

Cannabis and opioid co-dependence is independently associated with cognitive impairments. We examined neurocognitive dysfunctions in people with concurrent opioid dependence with cannabis dependence (OD+CD) or cannabis use (OD+CU) compared to those with only opioid dependence (OD) and healthy controls (HC). We selected adult participants, any sex, who met the diagnosis of OD ( = 268), OD+CU ( = 58), and OD + CD ( = 115).

Substance use in the correctional settings: A qualitative exploration of individual and contextual characteristics and intervention strategies using the behavior change wheel framework.

Background And Objectives: Planning and implementing prison-based substance use disorder (SUD) interventions are challenging. We wanted to understand why and how people in correctional settings (CS) use drugs and to explore what policies, environmental, and interpersonal factors influence substance use among incarcerated people. Using the Behavior Change Wheel (BCW) framework, we proposed a thematic map with intervention functions to reduce substance use in CS.

Service users' perception and attitude toward telemedicine-based treatment for substance use disorders: A qualitative study from India.

Aim: We aimed to assess the service user's acceptability, feasibility, and attitude toward telemedicine practice and compare it with in-person consultation in substance use disorder (SUD).

Materials And Methods: We recruited 15 adult patients with SUD who accessed both telemedicine and in-person care. We conducted in-depth interviews on awareness and access, facilitators and barriers, treatment satisfaction, and therapeutic relationship in the telemedicine context.

The toll of opioid dependence: A research report on the possible role of Toll-like receptor-4 and related immune markers in opioid dependence.

Background: The opioid receptors in the central nervous system and immune system contribute to its reinforcing effect. Xenobiotics-associated molecular pattern of opioids interacts with Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4) on the glial cell surface and increases dopaminergic activity in the nucleus accumbens in preclinical studies. We wanted to examine whether treatment with buprenorphine-naloxone (BNX) might be associated with changes in immunological markers in individuals with opioid dependence (OD).

Does Prescription Length of Buprenorphine Influence Treatment Outcomes in Opioid Use Disorder? A Retrospective Cohort Study from North India.

Objective: Buprenorphine (BUP) effectively suppresses non-prescription opioid use and increases treatment retention in opioid use disorder (OUD). However, short prescription length may interfere with treatment retention and recovery. We wanted to examine whether the outcomes of BUP treatment differ in high (HPL up to 4 wk) and low-prescription (LPL 1-2 wk) length groups.

Effectiveness of buprenorphine (naloxone) for opioid dependence does not differ across opioid categories: a retrospective cohort study from India.

We aimed to examine whether treatment retention, abstinence, and adherence to buprenorphine-naloxone (BNX) differ among individuals with opioid dependence (OD) across three common categories of opioids- heroin, opium, and low-potency pharmaceutical. In a retrospective cohort study, we analyzed outpatient treatment records from March 2020 through February 2022. Opioid category was determined by lifetime and current opioid use.

Digital screening and brief intervention for alcohol misuse in college students: A pilot, mixed-methods, cluster randomized controlled trial from a low-resourced setting.

Introduction: We examined the feasibility and acceptability of digital screening and brief intervention (d-SBI) for alcohol misuse in college students; the effectiveness of d-SBI was our secondary outcome. We also explored the barriers and facilitators of d-SBI.

Methods: The study design is a mixed-methods, pilot, and cluster randomized trial.

Neurocognitive Functions in Patients with Comorbid Hepatitis C and Opioid Dependence: A Comparative Study.

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is commonly comorbid with opioid dependence (OD). We wanted to compare the neurocognitive functions of OD subjects with or without HCV [HCV (+), HCV (-)] and healthy controls (HC).

Methods: We recruited 40 adult subjects (age 18-55 years) in each group.

Assist-linked brief intervention to reduce risky pattern of substance use in male workers employed at a tertiary care hospital in India: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Substance use in workplace leads to adverse effects both on the employees and on the workplace. Existing research focuses on alcohol-related harm, while workplace use of other substances has been neglected. There are no randomized controlled studies of brief interventions in Indian hospital settings.