International Journal of High Risk Behaviors and Addiction
Volume:13 Issue: 1, Mar 2024

Methadone poisoning intentionally or accidentally leads to a high rate of treatment burden and cost and deaths. The evaluation of the factors affecting the severity of poisoning can reduce recovery time, costs, and potential risks.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of intravenous vitamin C (ascorbic acid) administration on serum level and urinary excretion of methadone.

In this single-blind study, 54 patients who were diagnosed with methadone poisoning were divided into three groups. The two intervention groups received different doses of vitamin C, including 12 and 24 g, and the control group received normal saline. The serummethadone level and urine pH weremeasured at the time of arrival and 24 hours after admission. The data were analyzed using repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) in STATA version 12.

In this study, 18 patients were placed in each group. The three groups were not significantly different in basic variables, such as age, gender, and methadone dosage. Between and within-group comparison showed a significant decrease in the serum methadone levels over time after adjusting age, gender and methadone dosage (P < 0.05). Post-hoc analyses revealed a significant difference in methadone reduction between 12 g of vitamin C and control groups (P = 0.04), and there was no significant difference between the control and 24 g of vitamin C groups (P > 0.05). However, between and within-group comparisons showed no significant difference between the three groups in terms of urine pH (P > 0.05). In addition, interaction was observed between intervention and time on serum methadone levels (P < 0.001) and urine pH (P = 0.04) variables.

Consuming 12 g of vitamin C further reduced the serum methadone level in patients with methadone poisoning. There was no effect on methadone urinary excretion in patients.

The increasing importance of and reliance on social networking sites (SNS) has led people to frequent usage and addiction. The dopaminergic system plays a crucial role in the addiction process. Additionally, research suggests that the level of expression of brain neurotransmitter receptors may be reflected in peripheral blood lymphocytes.

This study aimed to investigate the expression of dopamine receptors in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) among SNS addicts and their relatives.

The mRNA expression of dopamine D3, D4, and D5 receptors in peripheral blood lymphocytes was assessed using real-time PCR in SNS addicts (n = 10) and their first-degree relatives (n = 10) compared with normal subjects (n = 10).

The findings revealed a significant decrease in D5 and D4 receptor mRNA expression in the PBL of SNS addicts compared to the control group (P < 0.05). In contrast, D3 receptor mRNA levels showed no significant change (P > 0.05). Firstdegree relatives of SNS addicts also exhibited a significant decrease in D5 receptor mRNA levels compared to the control group (P < 0.05), but unlike SNS addicts, D4 receptor levels did not show any significant decrease. D3 levels also remained unchanged (P > 0.05).

Based on the results of this study, considering the genetic factors that strongly influence social network addiction, necessary measures should be implemented to prevent this type of addiction in families and institutions such as schools and universities.

In a crisis, rumors often get started, and societies use them to cope with ambiguous situations. Southeastern Iran, with its high rate of homeless addicts per population, is a suitable area to examine the accuracy of the rumor about the positive effect of addictive substances on preventing COVID-19.

This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the abundance of COVID-19 infection among homeless drug abusers in this area.

For each participant, the health experts completed a questionnaire including demographic characteristics,symptoms and type, frequency and methods of drug abuse. For a definite diagnosis of COVID-19, a combined oropharyngeal/nasal sampling method was used in the laboratory under standard polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Data was analyzed with SPSS v. 19. The chi-square test was used to compare COVID-19 cases across substance types, abuse methods, and consumption frequencies.

In total, 295 homeless drug abusers participated, and positive COVID-19 was recorded for 21(7.1%). Most participants were waste pickers (60.5%), and 3.9% had COVID-19. The statistical analysis showed no significant difference in the number of positive COVID-19 cases between narcotics, stimulants, and both combinations. Our study also did not prove the positive effect of drug abuse methods and the frequency of daily drug abuse on the incidence of this disease.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, unreliable, incorrect, and incomplete information on its prevention spread in societies. It is recommended that health-related rumors be investigated and officials publicly announce the results.

Several factors contribute to suicide attempts. To the best our knowledge, there is no study has been conducted to investigate the impact of a family history of suicide on suicide attempts.

This study aims to examine the characteristics of suicide and its association with a family history of suicide.

This historical cohort study was carried out on individuals admitted to Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Taft and Shah Wali Hospital in Yazd for suicide attempts between 2018 and 2019. The study examined 73 individuals with a family history of suicide and 332 without such a history. It recorded demographic details, methods of suicide attempts, and family histories concerning the patients’ mothers, fathers, and siblings. Data were collected and subsequently analyzed using ndependent t-tests, Mann-Whitney tests, chi-square and Fisher’s exact test. A significance level of P < 0.05 was considered.

The average age of the subjects was 28.02 ± 10.8 years, with 295 (72.8%) of the participants being women. There were no significant differences in mean income (P = 0.99), marital status (P = 0.06), gender (P = 0.35), place of residence (P = 0.06), and education level (P = 0.37) between individuals with and without a family history of suicide. Furthermore, our results indicated that the prevalence of mental illness was significantly higher in individuals with a family history of suicide (P < 0.001). The average number of suicide attempts was 1.05 ± 1.90 for those with a family history and 1.21 ± 0.50 for those without, a difference that was statistically significant (P = 0.002). The timing, method, and reasons for suicide attempts were not associated with a family history of suicide.

A family history of suicide was associated with an increased number of suicide attempts. There was no correlation between family history and gender, occupation, place of residence, number of children, timing of suicide, method of suicide, reason for suicide, and educational status of the patients. However, a significant relationship was found between a family history of suicide and a history of mental illness among the patients, indicating a higher prevalence of mental illness in the group with a family history compared to those without.

According to the World Health Organization, almost half of violent deaths globally are due to suicide. Development in effective prevention of suicide requires a better understanding of the potential processes underlying suicidal ideation and behavior.

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between impulsivity with integrative self-knowledge and suicidal ideation in the adult population of Zahedan, Iran.

The present descriptive-correlational study was conducted on 422 adults aged 20 years and older. The Beck scale for suicidal ideation, Barrat impulsiveness, and integrative self-knowledge scales were used to collect data. The data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient and regression analysis.

The results showed that impulsivity had a direct and significant relationship with a suicidal tendency. According to the results of stepwise regression analysis, the impulsivity variable explained 0.03% of the suicidal ideation variance, and selfknowledge could explain 0.11% of the suicidal tendency variance.

In general, the obtained findings are consistent with the theory that impulsivity as a risk factor and cohesive selfawareness as a protective factor are associated with suicidal ideation and can be used as a step forward in finding useful solutions to prevent suicide. It is suggested that the results be evaluated prospectively in larger samples with a higher risk of suicide.

Individuals diagnosed with gaming disorder (GD) often exhibit increased arousal during gameplay.

This study aims to compare arousal levels among individuals with GD, problematic gamers (PG), and those with healthy gaming habits (HG) using a 14-stage hyper-casual racing game. It further investigates how game difficulty affects emotional responses.

We developed a detailed game and involved 146 participants to evaluate their feelings of dominance, arousal, and valence at each game stage, utilizing the Self-Assessment Manikin Test.

Problematic gamers and those with healthy gaming habits displayed similar emotional fluctuations throughout the game, whereas individuals with GD demonstrated a stable emotional pattern, regardless of game difficulty. An increase in game difficulty was associated with enhanced positive emotional experiences and a decrease in feelings of dominance. Stages 4, 12, and 13 of the game were identified as particularly emotionally engaging.

Individuals with GD may possess a distinct emotional profile, providing valuable insights into the psychology of gaming and emotional well-being in today's digital era.

Substance use disorders (SUD) in the population of anaesthesiology and intensive care medicine (ICM) residents have the potential to cause fatal occupational risks. Currently, there are no epidemiological reports regarding the prevalence of SUD among doctors in Indonesia and anaesthesiologists in particular. The purpose of this study was to estimate the occurrence of SUD among anaesthesiology and ICM residents in Indonesia and to recognize the SUD prevention strategy implemented in each teaching hospital.

This was a survey-based observational study using a three-part questionnaire consisting of 20 binary questions, which was pertained to the sociodemographic details, the occurrence and prevention of SUD. Participants were recruited from 16 residency programs with a total of 1 127 active residents registered at the Indonesian College of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care. All returned surveys were reviewed and scored by hand. The data were compiled and analyzed with numbers and percentages.

Returned surveys from 353 residents yielded a 31.3% response rate. Residents from 13 out of 16 registered residency programs in Indonesia participated in this survey. The occurrence of SUD among anaesthesiology and ICM residents in Indonesia was 0.5%. As much as 77.3% of respondents never had toxicological screening. Moreover, 18.2% of respondents were not aware of any routine toxicology screening in their program.

The majority of anaesthesiology and ICM residents in Indonesia have risk factors for developing SUD. The need for policies, training, education, and SUD prevention strategies must be immediately addressed.