Background: Although homelessness and opioid overdose are major public health issues in the U.S., evidence is limited as to whether homelessness is associated with an increased risk of opioid overdose.
Objective: To compare opioid-related outcomes between homeless versus housed individuals in low-income communities.
Design, Setting, And Participants: Cross-sectional analysis of individuals who had at least one ED visit or hospitalization in four states (Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New York) in 2014.
Measurements: Risk of opioid overdose and opioid-related ED visits/hospital admissions were compared between homeless versus low-income housed individuals, adjusting for patient characteristics and hospital-specific fixed effects (effectively comparing homeless versus low-income housed individuals treated at the same hospital). We also examined whether risk of opioid-related outcomes varied by patients' sex and race/ethnicity.
Results: A total of 96,099 homeless and 2,869,230 low-income housed individuals were analyzed. Homeless individuals had significantly higher risk of opioid overdose (adjusted risk, 1.8% for homeless vs. 0.3% for low-income housed individuals; adjusted risk difference [aRD], +1.5%; 95%CI, +1.0% to +2.0%; p < 0.001) and opioid-related ED visit/hospital admission (10.4% vs. 1.5%; aRD, +8.9%; 95%CI, +7.2% to +10.6%; p < 0.001) compared to low-income housed individuals. Non-Hispanic White females had the highest risk among the homeless population, whereas non-Hispanic White males had the highest risk among the low-income housed population.
Limitations: Individuals with no ED visit or hospitalization in 2014 were not included.
Conclusion: Homeless individuals had disproportionately higher adjusted risk of opioid-related outcomes compared to low-income housed individuals treated at the same hospital. Among homeless individuals, non-Hispanic White females incurred the highest risk. These findings highlight the importance of recognizing the homeless population-especially the non-Hispanic White female homeless population-as a high-risk population for opioid overdose.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112585 | DOI Listing |
Curr Allergy Asthma Rep
January 2025
Division of Immunology, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Purpose Of Review: This manuscript reviews the impact of important indoor environmental exposures on pediatric asthma, with a focus on recent literature in the field.
Recent Findings: Studies continue to support an association between numerous indoor aeroallergens and air pollutants found in homes and schools and increased asthma morbidity overall. Several recent home and school intervention studies have shown promise, though results have been overall mixed.
Crim Behav Ment Health
January 2025
Department of Criminal Justice, Kutztown University, Kutztown, Pennsylvania, USA.
Background: The importation model holds that inmate behaviour is a function of behaviours and thought patterns offenders bring with them into prison from the community. It may also be that offenders export behaviours and thought patterns they develop or refine in prison when they return to the community.
Aims: The purpose of this study was to determine whether an increase in reactive criminal thinking in prisoners predicts recidivism following release.
Ear Hear
January 2025
McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Objectives: Live music creates a sense of connectedness in older adults, which can help alleviate the social isolation frequently associated with hearing loss and aging. However, most hearing-aid (HA) users are dissatisfied with the sound quality of live music and rate sound quality as important to them. Assistive listening systems are frequently independent of a user's HAs and fall short in tailoring to each individual's hearing loss.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The depth within the body, small diameter, long length, and varying tissue surrounding the spinal cord impose specific considerations when designing radiofrequency coils. The optimal coil configuration for 7 T cervical spinal cord MRI is unknown and, currently, there are very few coil options. The purpose of this work was (1) to establish a quality control protocol for evaluating 7 T cervical spinal cord coils and (2) to use that protocol to evaluate the performance of 4 different coil designs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPak J Med Sci
January 2025
Asra Mumtaz, Pharm. D, MPhil (Pharmacology) Karachi, Pakistan.
Objective: To investigate and compare the median nerve-cross sectional area at the wrist region of the dominant and non-dominant hands of high- and low- smartphone users.
Method: This descriptive cross-sectional study was based on 128 human subjects conducted at Bahria University Health Sciences Karachi Campus from January to June 2022. The sample size was calculated using the method of sample size for frequency in a population www.
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