Playing the wrong game again? Policy responses to problematic video gaming in Brazil : Commentary on: Policy responses to problematic video game use: A systematic review of current measures and future possibilities (Király et al., 2018)

Brazil is the leading game market in South America and the second leading market in Latin America. Worldwide, Brazil ranks fourth in number of gamers, with nearly 66.3 million gamers. In the last years, there has been a significant and progressive concern about the negative consequences of video gaming overuse, but no population-based study has estimated the prevalence of problematic gaming in Brazil. There is also no public policy aimed at reducing risk and harm of problematic gaming. Drawing a parallel between gaming and alcohol policies, we discuss some alternatives to address this challenging situation

Características sociodemográfi cas, desempeño escolar, patrón de consumo y salud emocional como factores de riesgo para el consumo de alcohol entre adolescentes

Objective: It is known that alcohol use has increased both nationally and internationally. The present study was designed to evaluate the extent to wich sociodemographic characteristics, school performance, pattern of consumption and emotional health can predict the variable of interest, recent alcohol use, defi ned as the consumption of alcoholic beverages in the past 30 days, among adolescents from public schools in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre/Rio Grande do Sul-Brazil. Methods: This was an observational, analytical, cross-sectional study of 124 students, 70 girls and 54 boys, aged 11 to 18 years. Participants were assessed in the classroom and completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Youth Self Report, and a questionnaire on drug use. Results: The variable with the greatest impact on recent alcohol use was total internalizing problems, anxiety/depression, and female sex. First alcohol use at 15 years or younger as well as school failure were also able to predict alcohol use. Conclusion: the data confi rm the multidimensionality of the phenomenon that should be considered in prevention campaigns.Objetivo: sabe-se que o consumo de álcool entre adolescentes tem se intensifi cado no contexto nacional e internacional e em função disso o presente estudo foi concebido para avaliar em que medida variáveis como características sociodemográfi cas, desempenho escolar, padrão de consumo e saúde emocional podem predizer a variável de interesse, consumo recente de álcool, defi nido como consumo de bebidas alcoólicas nos últimos 30 dias, entre adolescentes de escolas públicas da região metropolitana de Porto Alegre/Rio Grande do Sul-Brasil. Método: trata-se de um estudo transversal, com delineamento observacional-analítico, do qual participaram 124 escolares, 69 meninas e 55 meninos, com idades entre 11 e 18 anos. Todos foram acessados em sala de aula para responderem ao Questionário de Dados Sociodemográfi cos, Youth Self Report e Questionário sobre o uso de drogas. Resultados: as variáveis com maior impacto no consumo recente de álcool foram o total dos problemas de internalização, ansiedade/ depressão e sexo feminino. Ter feito uso de álcool com 15 anos ou menos e reprovação escolar também foram capazes de predizer o uso de álcool. Conclusão: os dados confi rmam a multidimensionalidade do fenômeno que deve ser considerada em campanhas de prevenção.Objetivo: se sabe que el consumo de alcohol entre adolescentes se ha intensifi cado en el contexto nacional e internacional. En función de ello el presente estudio fue concebido para evaluar en qué medida variables como las características socio-demográfi cas, el rendimiento escolar, patrón de consumo y la salud emocional pueden predecir la variable de interés, el consumo reciente de alcohol, defi nido como el consumo de bebidas alcohólicas en los últimos 30 días, entre adolescentes de escuelas públicas de la región metropolitana de Porto Alegre / Rio Grande do Sul-Brasil. Método: se trata de un estudio transversal, con delineamiento observacional-analítico, del cual participaron 124 escolares, 69 niñas y 55 niños, con edades entre 11 y 18 años. Todos fueron accedidos en el aula para responder al Cuestionario de Datos Sociodemográfi cos, Youth Self Report y Cuestionario sobre el uso de drogas. Resultados: las variables con mayor impacto en lo consumo reciente de alcohol fueron el total de los problemas de internalización, ansiedad/depresión y sexo femenino. Haber hecho uso de alcohol con 15 años o menos y reprobación escolar también fue capaces de predecir el uso de alcohol. Conclusión: los datos confi rman lo fenómeno multidimensional que debe ser considerado en campañas de prevención

The sum of fears in cancer patients inside the context of the COVID-19

The pandemic resulting from COVID-19 has led to the collapse of the health system in dozens of countries. Parallel to clinical risk, the appearance or intensification of psychiatric symptoms has also been documented. The identification of groups at risk is essential for the establishment of preventive and therapeutic strategies. Cancer patients appear to be especially vulnerable both from a clinical and psychiatric perspective. Problems related to contamination and the cancer treatments themselves are intertwined, causing a sum of patients' fears to arise, which can cause mental effects. This study aims to review and investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of cancer patients and indicate possible support strategies

A global survey on changes in the supply, price, and use of illicit drugs and alcohol, and related complications during the 2020 covid-19 pandemic

Background and Aims: COVID-19 has infected more than 77 million people worldwide and impacted the lives of many more, with a particularly devastating impact on vulnerable populations, including people with substance use disorders (SUDs). Quarantines, travel bans, regulatory changes, social distancing, and “lockdown” measures have affected drug and alcohol supply chains and subsequently their availability, price, and use patterns, with possible downstream effects on presentations of SUDs and demand for treatment. Given the lack of multicentric epidemiologic studies, we conducted a rapid global survey within the International Society of Addiction Medicine (ISAM) network in order to understand the status of substance-use patterns during the current pandemic. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Worldwide. Participants: Starting on April 4, 2020 during a 5-week period, the survey received 185 responses from 77 countries. Measurements: To assess addiction medicine professionals' perceived changes in drug and alcohol supply, price, use pattern, and related complications during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings: Participants reported (among who answered “decreased” or “increased”) a decrease in drug supply (69.0%) and at the same time an increase in price (95.3%) globally. With respect to changes in use patterns, an increase in alcohol (71.7%), cannabis (63.0%), prescription opioids (70.9%), and sedative/hypnotics (84.6%) use was reported, while the use of amphetamines (59.7%), cocaine (67.5%), and opiates (58.2%) was reported to decrease overall. Conclusions: The global report on changes in the availability, use patterns, and complications of alcohol and drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic should be considered in making new policies and in developing mitigating measures and guidelines during the current pandemic (and probable future ones) in order to minimize risks to people with SUD

Multiple clinical risks for cannabis users during the COVID-19 pandemic

The pandemic caused by Sars-CoV-2 (COVID-19) has been a great concern for public and mental health systems worldwide. The identification of risk groups is essential for the establishment of preventive and therapeutic strategies, as for substance users. During COVID-19 pandemic, there was an increase in the use of psychoactive substances during the lockdown, including cannabis. This commentary reviews relevant findings and discusses scientific evidence on the risks of worse clinical and psychiatric complications due to coronavirus disease COVID-19 in subjects who use cannabis. Although they are not included as a risk group in the health recommendations for that disease, they may have a more vulnerable respiratory system to viral diseases. There are certain similarities between the harmful cardiovascular and respiratory effects of cannabis use and those of smoking. Due to the different modes of smoking, cannabis chemicals are retained in the body for longe and may also contain other toxic substances such as tar, a substance found in tobacco and which has been associated with the development of lung cancer, bronchitis and pulmonary emphysema. Therefore, we discuss if individuals who use cannabis regularly might be more vulnerable to COVID-19 infection. This population deserves more clinical attention worldwide and this manuscript can help clinicians become more aware of cannabis risks during pandemics and develop specific intervention strategies