Non-medical nitrous oxide misuse: From identifying a signal to unprecedented addictovigilance network communication.

Addictovigilance is a French health monitoring system, composed of 13 centres distributed across the national territory, that aims to monitor cases of abuse, misuse, or use disorders related to psychoactive substances. Fulfilling these missions requires a regional network that ensures efficient information flow, dissemination to health authorities, and subsequent downward communication to prevent risks. This was illustrated through the example of nitrous oxide misuse.

Factors associated with the use of benzodiazepine and opioid prescription drug in the student population: a cross-sectional study.

The misuse of benzodiazepines and opioid medications is frequent in students. To improve our understanding of this behavior, we aimed to identify factors associated with separate and concomitant use of these substances. Anonymous self-reported questionnaires were e-mailed to students enrolled at a French university between March and July 2021, covering: sociodemographic characteristics, academics, psychoactive substance use, ADHD symptomatology (adulthood and childhood), and psychiatric/psychological or addiction follow-up.

Substance use disorder of equimolar oxygen-nitrous oxide mixture in French sickle-cell patients: results of the PHEDRE study.

Background: In many countries, nitrous oxide is used in a gas mixture (EMONO) for short-term analgesia. Cases of addiction, with significant misuse, have been reported in hospitalized patients. Patients suffering from sickle cell disease (SCD) could represent a high-risk population for substance use disorder (SUD) due to their significant pain crisis and repeated use of EMONO.

Could psychostimulant drug use among university students be related to ADHD symptoms? A preliminary study.

We aimed to explore if psychostimulant use among student could be linked to attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms using a self-administered questionnaire sent by email to French students in 2021. Participants were asked about their psychostimulant use and the presence of ADHD symptoms using the Wender Utah Rating Scale and the Adult Self-Report Scale. Among the 4431 respondents, the prevalence of psychostimulant use was concerning and significantly associated with ADHD symptoms.