The burden of somatic diseases among people with alcohol- and drug use disorders are influenced by mental illness and low socioeconomic status. A registry-based cohort study in Norway

Objectives: Persons with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and drug use disorder (DUD) have a lower life expectancy than the general population. We examined the burden of somatic diseases among persons with AUD or DUD and investigated impact of socioeconomic status (SES) and mental health disorders on the co-occurrence of somatic diseases in these groups. Methods: We performed a retrospective, register-based cohort study with a 6-year follow-up of persons (aged ≥18 y) with AUD (13,478) or DUD (16,659). Cox regression analyses were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) of somatic diseases. Results: Patients with DUD were, on average, 10 years younger at the point of diagnosis than patients with AUD. Mental illnesses were prominent in both groups (AUD: 40.5%, and DUD: 46.9% vs 3.5% in controls). Adjusting for mental disorders, the risk of all somatic diseases among the AUD and DUD groups was reduced by 30%. Some of the elevated risk of somatic diseases among persons with AUD and DUD is explained by low SES, though less than that explained by the presence of mental disorders. The diseases with highest risk among AUD patients were metabolic disorders (16.9-fold) and hypertension (14.8-fold), and among AUD patients, viral hepatitis (23.3-fold), after adjusting for low SES and mental disorders. Conclusions: Persons with AUD had a higher risk of most somatic diseases, while those with DUD had specific risks for infections and viral hepatitis. Mental health disorders and SES adjusted the associations regarding most somatic diseases. In general, improvement of socio-economic conditions, preferably in combination with professional support to self-manage mental health problems, will reduce the risk of somatic illness in both groups. For DUD patients, available sterile user equipment will reduce the risk of viral hepatis. Keywords: Alcohol use; Diseases; Drug use; Mental illness; Socioeconomic status; Somatic © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).The burden of somatic diseases among people with alcohol- and drug use disorders are influenced by mental illness and low socioeconomic status. A registry-based cohort study in NorwaypublishedVersio

Health‑related quality of life is strongly associated with self‑efficacy, self‑esteem, loneliness, and stress in 14–15‑year‑old adolescents: a cross‑sectional study

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Health-related quality of life, health literacy and COVID-19-related worries of 16- to 17-year-old adolescents and parents one year into the pandemic: a cross-sectional study

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Health-related quality of life in parents of adolescents one year into the COVID-19 pandemic: a two-year longitudinal study

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Pain and health-related quality of life in adolescents and the mediating role of self-esteem and self-efficacy: a cross-sectional study including adolescents and parents

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Changes in health-related quality of life in adolescents and the impact of gender and selected variables: a two-year longitudinal study

Background: Increased knowledge about factors that can impact changes in adolescents’ health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is needed. The present study aimed to investigate possible HRQOL changes in adolescents at 14 and 16 years, and assess the impact of sociodemographic factors, gender, pain, self-esteem, self-efcacy, loneliness, and stress on HRQOL changes over time. Further, to assess HRQOL stratifed by gender. Methods: A longitudinal study involving 211 adolescents was conducted. Sociodemographic variables, pain, selfesteem, self-efcacy, loneliness, and stress were all assessed with well-validated instruments. KIDSCREEN-27 was used to measure HRQOL. Data were analyzed using independent t-tests, paired samples t-tests, and linear mixed models for repeated measures. Results: When all variables were added to the linear mixed models, stress, loneliness, and pain were signifcantly, independently associated with a reduction in HRQOL change scores for four of the fve KIDSCREEN subscales. Time was signifcantly associated with a reduction in physical and psychological well-being. Self-efcacy and self-esteem were signifcantly associated with an increase in HRQOL change scores for four and two subscales, respectively. Male gender was signifcantly negatively associated with changes in social support and peers compared to female gender. Conclusion: Our results demonstrated a signifcant decline in adolescents’ HRQOL regarding physical and psychological well-being for the age range 14–16 years. Furthermore, we found that stress, loneliness, and pain have a signifcant negative impact on HRQOL changes, whereas self-esteem and self-efcacy have a signifcant positive impact. Our results highlight the importance of increased understanding regarding factors associated with changes in adolescents’ HRQOL to enable accurate and strategic interventions.publishedVersio

The relationship between stress and health-related quality of life and the mediating role of self-efficacy in Norwegian adolescents: a cross-sectional study

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I became a leader by coincidence: specialised nurses as leaders in the field of mental health and substance abuse

Author’s accepted manuscript (postprint).This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Emerald in Leadership in Health Services 27/11/2023.Available online: doi: 10.1108/LHS-05-2023-0026acceptedVersio

Frequent use of over-the-counter analgesics among adolescents – a warning sign of troubled lives

Some adolescents have a high consumption of over-the-counter analgesics. One in ten are daily users, while 25 percent use over-the-counter analgesics weekly. The quality of life for these adolescents is reduced by frequent and persistent pain, sleeping problems and reduced self-esteem. Affecting factors seem to be a stressful childhood and adolescence marked by long-term family conflicts, frequent moves and serious health problems or substance abuse in family or near relations. Many have experienced persistent bullying. These adolescents long for a close and reliable friend. The mother is the primary caregiver, often with little support from the father or other family members. She has significant influence on the youths’ daily activities, and assessment of pain and pain management, including the use of over-the-counter analgesics. The mutual interdependence between mother and child may seem protective, but such a close relationship might impede the development of independence and identity