Effectiveness of Machine Learning Based Adjustments to an eHealth Intervention Targeting Mild Alcohol Use.

This study aimed to evaluate effects of three machine learning based adjustments made to an eHealth intervention for mild alcohol use disorder, regarding a) early dropout, b) participation duration, and c) success in reaching personal alcohol use goals. Additionally, we aimed to replicate earlier machine learning analyses. We used three cohorts of observational log data from the Jellinek Digital Self-help intervention.

The Association between Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Problematic Alcohol and Cannabis Use in a Multi-Ethnic Cohort in The Netherlands: The HELIUS Study.

(1) Background: Ethnic minorities exhibit a higher prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), while results for problematic substance use among ethnic groups remain mixed. PTSD and problematic substance use often co-occur; however, the impact of ethnicity on this association has not yet been investigated. (2) Methods: Self-report data on problematic alcohol/cannabis use (AUDIT/CUDIT) and presence of severe PTSD symptoms (PSS-SR) of = 22,841 participants of Dutch ( = 4610), South-Asian Surinamese ( = 3306), African Surinamese ( = 4349), Ghanaian ( = 2389), Turkish ( = 3947), and Moroccan ( = 4240) origin were available from the HELIUS study.

Predicting cannabis use moderation among a sample of digital self-help subscribers: A machine learning study.

Background: For individuals who wish to reduce their cannabis use without formal help, there are a variety of self-help tools available. Although some are proven to be effective in reducing cannabis use, effect sizes are typically small. More insight into predictors of successful reduction of use among individuals who frequently use cannabis and desire to reduce/quit could help identify factors that contribute to successful cannabis use moderation.

Treatment Seeking Nitrous Oxide Users in Addiction Care: A Comparison with Cocaine Users on Clinical and Treatment Characteristics.

Introduction: Over the past decade, frequent use of large quantities of nitrous oxide (N2O) has become more common in the Netherlands. Although N2O poses several negative health consequences for a subgroup of problematic N2O users, there is a lack of knowledge on what characterizes these intensive users. This study therefore aims to provide the demographic and substance use characteristics and experiences during treatment of treatment seeking problematic N2O users and to compare this with a matched group of treatment-seeking problematic cocaine users.

Sex-Dependent Differences in the Neural Correlates of Cocaine and Emotional Cue-Reactivity in Regular Cocaine Users and Non-Drug-Using Controls: Understanding the Role of Duration and Severity of Use.

Introduction: The development of cocaine use disorder in females is suggested to be more strongly related to neural mechanisms underlying stress-reactivity, whereas in males it is suggested to be more strongly related to neural mechanisms underlying drug cue-reactivity. Existing evidence, however, is based on neuroimaging studies that either lack a control group and/or have very small sample sizes that do not allow to investigate sex differences.

Methods: The main objective of the current study was to investigate sex differences in the neural correlates of cocaine and negative emotional cue-reactivity within high-risk intranasal cocaine users (CUs: 31 males and 26 females) and non-cocaine-using controls (non-CUs: 28 males and 26 females).

Association between endocrine and neuropsychological endophenotypes and gambling disorder severity.

Background: Neurobiological characteristics have been identified regarding the severity of gambling disorder (GD). The aims of this study were: (1) to examine, through a path analysis, whether there was a relationship between neuroendocrine features, potentially mediational GD variables, and GD severity, and (2) to associate neuroendocrine variables, with GD severity-related variables according to gambling preferences.

Methods: The sample included 297 outpatients with GD.

[Neural networks in addiction].

Background: Substance use disorders (SUD) are among the most prevalent psychiatric disorders, with high illness costs. A disturbed balance between frontostriatal and stress brain circuitry influences the development of SUD, its continuation, and vulnerability for relapse.

Aim: To provide a concise overview of neural networks in SUD, and discuss implications for clinical practice.

Cluster analysis in gambling disorder based on sociodemographic, neuropsychological, and neuroendocrine features regulating energy homeostasis.

Background: The heterogeneity of gambling disorder (GD) has led to the identification of different subtypes, mostly including phenotypic features, with distinctive implications on the GD severity and treatment outcome. However, clustering analyses based on potential endophenotypic features, such as neuropsychological and neuroendocrine factors, are scarce so far.

Aims: This study firstly aimed to identify empirical clusters in individuals with GD based on sociodemographic (i.

Structured alcohol cessation support program versus current practice in acute alcoholic pancreatitis (PANDA): Study protocol for a multicentre cluster randomised controlled trial.

Background/objectives: The most important risk factor for recurrent pancreatitis after an episode of acute alcoholic pancreatitis is continuation of alcohol use. Current guidelines do not recommend any specific treatment strategy regarding alcohol cessation. The PANDA trial investigates whether implementation of a structured alcohol cessation support program prevents pancreatitis recurrence after a first episode of acute alcoholic pancreatitis.

Accuracy of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) for Screening on Comorbid Internalizing Disorders among Youth in Substance Use Disorder Treatment.

Introduction: Major depression, anxiety disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are among the most prevalent comorbid mental disorders in youth addiction treatment. Hence, screening for these internalizing disorders should be part of the standard routine at intake in substance use disorder treatment. We investigated the usefulness of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) as a screener for this purpose.

Preferences of young adults on the development of a new digital add-on alcohol intervention for depression treatment: A qualitative study.

Aim: To explore the preferences of young adults with regard to the development of a new digital add-on alcohol intervention to complement depression treatment.

Methods: This qualitative study included young adults (18-35 years) with experience of either problematic alcohol use or depression or both ( = 29). Two rounds of focus groups were conducted, with two focus groups in each round.

Brain volumes in alcohol use disorder: Do females and males differ? A whole-brain magnetic resonance imaging mega-analysis.

Emerging evidence suggests distinct neurobiological correlates of alcohol use disorder (AUD) between sexes, which however remain largely unexplored. This work from ENIGMA Addiction Working Group aimed to characterize the sex differences in gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) correlates of AUD using a whole-brain, voxel-based, multi-tissue mega-analytic approach, thereby extending our recent surface-based region of interest findings on a nearly matching sample using a complementary methodological approach. T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from 653 people with AUD and 326 controls was analyzed using voxel-based morphometry.

Temporal order of diagnosis between gambling disorder and substance use disorders: Longitudinal results from the Norwegian Patient Registry.

Introduction: Previous research has established co-occurrence between substance use disorders (SUDs) and gambling disorder (GD). Less well understood is the temporal sequencing of onset between these disorders, and in particular whether SUD is a risk factor for GD. The present study examined the temporal order between registered diagnoses of SUD and GD, stratified by sex.

Striatal ups or downs? Neural correlates of monetary reward anticipation, cue reactivity and their interaction in alcohol use disorder and gambling disorder.

Background And Aims: Dysfunction of the striatum, a brain region part of the mesolimbic reward system, is a key characteristic of addictive disorders, but neuroimaging studies have reported conflicting findings. An integrative model of addiction points to the presence or absence of addiction-related cues as an explanation for hyper- or hypoactivation, respectively, of the striatum.

Methods: To test this model directly, we investigated striatal activation during monetary reward anticipation in the presence versus absence of addiction-related cues using functional MRI.

A guided digital intervention to reduce cannabis use: The ICan randomized controlled trial.

Aims: To test the effectiveness of a digital intervention to reduce cannabis use (ICan) with adherence-focused guidance compared with educational cannabis information.

Design: This was a single-blind randomized controlled trial. Follow-up clinical outcome measurements took place 3 and 6 months after randomization.

Exploring the effects of a wearable biocueing app (Sense-IT) as an addition to aggression regulation therapy in forensic psychiatric outpatients.

Objective: Preventing and reducing violence is of high importance for both individuals and society. However, the overall efficacy of current treatment interventions aimed at reducing aggressive behavior is limited. New technological-based interventions may enhance treatment outcomes, for instance by facilitating out-of-session practice and providing just-in-time support.

Alcohol use as a predictor of the course of major depressive disorder: a prospective population-based study.

Aims: There are indications that problematic alcohol use may negatively impact the course of major depressive disorder (MDD). However, most studies on alcohol use and adverse MDD outcomes are conducted amongst MDD populations with (severe) alcohol use disorder in psychiatric treatment settings. Therefore, it remains unclear whether these results can be generalised to the general population.

Forensic Psychiatric Outpatients' and Therapists' Perspectives on a Wearable Biocueing App (Sense-IT) as an Addition to Aggression Regulation Therapy: Qualitative Focus Group and Interview Study.

Background: Given the increased use of smart devices and the advantages of individual behavioral monitoring and assessment over time, wearable sensor-based mobile health apps are expected to become an important part of future (forensic) mental health care. For successful implementation in clinical practice, consideration of barriers and facilitators is of utmost importance.

Objective: The aim of this study was to provide insight into the perspectives of both psychiatric outpatients and therapists in a forensic setting on the use and implementation of the Sense-IT biocueing app in aggression regulation therapy.

Goal-directed and habitual decision making under stress in gambling disorder: An fMRI study.

The development of addictive behaviors has been suggested to be related to a transition from goal-directed to habitual decision making. Stress is a factor known to prompt habitual behavior and to increase the risk for addiction and relapse. In the current study, we therefore used functional MRI to investigate the balance between goal-directed 'model-based' and habitual 'model-free' control systems and whether acute stress would differentially shift this balance in gambling disorder (GD) patients compared to healthy controls (HCs).