Age at First Alcohol Use and Weapon Carrying among Adolescents: Findings from the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey

Background Although studies have investigated the association between alcohol use and violent behaviors such as weapon carrying, few studies have examined the association between age at first alcohol use and weapon-carrying among adolescents. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between age at first alcohol use and weapon carrying among adolescents. Methods Data for this study came from the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. An analytic sample of 13,442 adolescents aged 14–18 years old (51% female) was analyzed using binary logistic regression. The outcome variable investigated in this study was weapon carrying during the past 30 days, and the main explanatory variable investigated was age at first alcohol use. Results Of the 13,442 adolescents, 13.5% carried a weapon during the past 30 days, and 15.4% reported having their first alcoholic drink before age 13. In the multivariable logistic regression, adolescents who reported having alcohol before age 13 had more than double the odds of carrying a weapon when compared to those who never had alcohol before age 13 (AOR = 2.32, p \u3c .001, 95% CI = 1.87-2.89). Other significant factors associated with weapon carrying include male gender, victim of bullying, teen dating violence, sexual violence, suicidal ideation, and history of substance use. Adolescents who self-identified as Black/African American or Hispanic were significantly less likely to carry a weapon when compared to adolescents who self-identified as non-Hispanic White. Conclusion The findings of this study underscore the importance of developing age appropriate intervention strategies to curb early initiation of alcohol use and weapon carrying among adolescents

Comorbid Depression and Psychosis in Parkinson's Disease: A Report of 62,783 Hospitalizations in the United States

Background Depression and psychosis are common comorbidities that significantly affects the quality of life and disease outcomes in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. Objective The aim of this study was to analyze and discern the differences in the hospitalization outcomes, comorbidities, and utilization of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in PD patients with comorbid depression and comorbid psychosis. Methods We used the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (2010-2014) and identified PD as a primary diagnosis (N = 62,783), and depression (N = 11,358) and psychosis (N = 2,475) as co-diagnosis using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes. Pearson's chi-square test and independent-sample t-test were used for categorical data and continuous data, respectively. Results White male, older age, and comorbid psychosis were significantly associated with higher odds of having major severity of illness in PD inpatients. The mean length of stay (LOS) was higher in PD patients with psychosis compared to PD with depression (7.32 days vs. 4.23 days; P < 0.001), though the mean total charges of hospitalization were lower in psychosis ($31,240 vs.$38,581; P < 0.001). Utilization of DBS was lower in PD patients with psychosis versus with depression (3.9% vs. 24.3%; P < 0.001). Conclusion Psychiatric comorbidities are prevalent in PD patients and are associated with more disease severity, impaired quality of life, and increased use of healthcare resources (higher LOS and cost). They should be considered an integral part of the disease, and a multidisciplinary approach to managing this disease is crucial to improve the health-related quality of life of PD patients

Age at first alcohol use and weapon carrying among adolescents: Findings from the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey

Background: Although studies have investigated the association between alcohol use and violent behaviors such as weapon carrying, few studies have examined the association between age at first alcohol use and weapon-carrying among adolescents. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between age at first alcohol use and weapon carrying among adolescents. Methods: Data for this study came from the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. An analytic sample of 13,442 adolescents aged 14–18 years old (51% female) was analyzed using binary logistic regression. The outcome variable investigated in this study was weapon carrying during the past 30 days, and the main explanatory variable investigated was age at first alcohol use. Results: Of the 13,442 adolescents, 13.5% carried a weapon during the past 30 days, and 15.4% reported having their first alcoholic drink before age 13. In the multivariable logistic regression, adolescents who reported having alcohol before age 13 had more than double the odds of carrying a weapon when compared to those who never had alcohol before age 13 (AOR = 2.32, p < .001, 95% CI = 1.87-2.89). Other significant factors associated with weapon carrying include male gender, victim of bullying, teen dating violence, sexual violence, suicidal ideation, and history of substance use. Adolescents who self-identified as Black/African American or Hispanic were significantly less likely to carry a weapon when compared to adolescents who self-identified as non-Hispanic White. Conclusion: The findings of this study underscore the importance of developing age appropriate intervention strategies to curb early initiation of alcohol use and weapon carrying among adolescents

Heroin Overdose-Related Child and Adolescent Hospitalizations: Insight on Comorbid Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders

Objective: To evaluate the association between psychiatric comorbidities, substance use disorders and heroin overdose-related hospitalizations (HOD). Next, to understand the demographic trend of HOD hospitalizations and comorbidities. Methods: Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), we included 27,442,808 child and adolescent hospitalizations, and 1432 inpatients (0.005%) were managed primarily for HOD. The odds ratio (OR) of the association of variables in HOD inpatients were measured using a logistic regression model. Results: Adolescents had 56 times higher odds (95% CI 43.36&ndash;73.30) for HOD-related hospitalizations compared to 4.6% children under 11 years. About three-fifth of the HOD inpatients were male, and they had 1.5-fold higher odds (95% CI 1.30&ndash;1.64) compared to 43% females in the study population. Whites were considerably higher in proportion (81%) than other race/ethnicities. A greater portion of HOD inpatients (40%) were from high-income families. Most common comorbid psychiatric disorders were mood (43.8%) and anxiety (20.4%). The prevalent comorbid substance use disorders were opioid (62.4%), tobacco (36.8%) and cannabis (28.5%) use disorders. Conclusion: HOD-related hospitalizations were predominant in males, White and older adolescents (12&ndash;18 years). Prescription opioids are the bridge to heroin abuse, thereby increasing the vulnerability to other substance abuse. This requires more surveillance and should be explored to help reduce the heroin epidemic in children

Association between court-ordered corrective statements and smoking cessation among individuals with depression or anxiety

In 2006, a US federal court mandated tobacco companies to disseminate corrective messages to address tobacco-related misperceptions perpetuated by the tobacco industry. This study sought to evaluate the impact of exposure to these messages on tobacco cessation among smokers with depression and/or anxiety. Data were obtained from the 2019 Health Information National Trends Survey. A total of 606 were current adult smokers. Multivariable logistic regression models were conducted to explore the relationship between exposure to anti-smoking messages and quitting tobacco among smokers with mental disorders (n ​= ​209) and those without mental disorders (n ​= ​397). Prevalence of exposure to court-ordered corrective messages was 51% among the US adults with depression and/or anxiety and 61.9% among current smokers with depression and/or anxiety. Exposure to multiple antismoking messages was not associated with intentions (OR 1.43, 95% CI 0.28–7.86; p ​= ​0.663) or attempts to quit cigarette smoking (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.20–5.42; p ​= ​0.817) among individuals with (61.2% vs 58.5%; p ​= ​0.678) depression or anxiety. Further work is needed to identify psychological and motivational elements that substantially impact smoking behavior change among mental health populations such that these can be included in future industry funded media campaigns

Hospital Outcomes in Antepartum Mental Disorders: A Study on 897,397 Pregnant Inpatients

Objective: To evaluate the impact of antepartum mental disorders (AMD) in medical and psychiatric comorbidities, and inpatient outcomes during hospitalizations for pregnancy/birth-related complications. Methods: We used the national inpatient sample (NIS) data and included 19,170,562 female patients (age, 12&ndash;40 years) with a principal diagnosis of pregnancy/birth-related complications and grouped by co-diagnoses of AMD (N = 897,397). We used a binomial logistic regression model to evaluate the odds ratio (OR) for major severity of illness and adjusted for demographic confounders. Results: The hospitalizations with AMD increased by 22.1% (p &lt; 0.001) from 2010 to 2014. White females (66.1%) and those from low-income families (&lt;25th percentile, 31.8%) majorly had comorbid AMD. Depression (43.8%) and drug abuse (27%) were prevalent psychiatric disorders in AMD inpatients. Comorbid AMD inpatients had a higher likelihood for major severity of illness (OR 2.475, 95% CI 2.459&ndash;2.491, p &lt; 0.001). They also had a longer hospitalization stay with a mean difference of 0.486 days (95% CI 0.480&ndash;0.491) and higher total charges by $1889.420 per admission (95% CI 1852.670&ndash;1926.170) than non-AMD inpatients. Conclusions: AMD is associated with worsening of severity of illness in pregnancy/birth-related complications and require acute inpatient care. Mental health assessment and treatment of AMD, and education about efficacy and safety of psychiatric medications may help to improve outcomes in these patients