Understanding fatal and non-fatal drug overdose risk factors : overdose risk questionnaire pilot study—validation

Data collection and analysis was supported by the Health Informatics Centre, Farr Institute, the University of Dundee. In addition, NHS Fife R&D, NHS Education for Scotland, and the Medical School of the University of St Andrews supported the project.Background: Drug overdoses (fatal and non-fatal) are among the leading causes of death in population with substance use disorders. The aim of the current study was to identify risk factors for fatal and non-fatal drug overdose for predominantly opioid-dependent treatment–seeking population. Methods: Data were collected from 640 adult patients using a self-reported 25-item Overdose Risk (OdRi) questionnaire pertaining to drug use and identified related domains. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was primarily used to improve the interpretability of this questionnaire. Two sets of EFA were conducted; in the first set of analysis, all items were included, while in the second set, items related to the experience of overdose were removed. Logistic regression was used for the assessment of latent factors’ association with both fatal and non-fatal overdoses. Results: EFA suggested a three-factor solution accounting for 75 and 97% of the variance for items treated in the first and second sets of analysis, respectively. Factor 1 was common for both sets of EFA analysis, containing six items (Cronbach’s α = 0.70) focusing around “illicit drug use and lack of treatment.” In the first set of analysis, Factors 2 (Cronbach’s α = 0.60) and 3 (Cronbach’s α = 0.34) were focusing around “mental health and emotional trauma” and “chronic drug use and frequent overdose” domains, respectively. The increase of Factor 2 was found to be a risk factor for fatal drug overdose (adjusted coefficient = 1.94, p = 0.038). In the second set of analysis, Factors 2 (Cronbach’s α = 0.65) and 3 (Cronbach’s α = 0.59) as well as Factor 1 were found to be risk factors for non-fatal drug overdose ever occurring. Only Factors 1 and 3 were positively associated with non-fatal overdose (one in a past year). Conclusion: The OdRi tool developed here could be helpful for clinical studies for the overdose risk assessment. However, integrating validated tools for mental health can probably help refining the accuracy of latent variables and the questionnaire’s consistency. Mental health and life stress appear as important predictors of both fatal and non-fatal overdoses.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Association between chronic psychoactive substances use and systemic inflammation : a systematic review and meta-analysis

This systematic review and meta-analysis assess the change in inflammation biomarkers level among chronic psychoactive substance users. To meet the required inclusion criteria, all studies had to describe human participants with an age ≥18y., experiencing chronic psychostimulant (nicotine, amphetamine, cocaine), sedative (benzodiazepine, opioids) and/or cannabinoid use. The comparison group was defined as healthy participants. Studies where included if they reported at least one of the pro/inflammatory biomarkers. Study bias was examined by Funnel plots and heterogeneity by computing the I2 statistics. Only 21 eligible studies were selected based on 26216 study participants. A small and significant effect size of 0.18mg/L (95% CI:0.10-0.27) was detected in favor of chronic smokers (z=4.33;P<0.0001). There was evidence of publication bias for studies measuring IL-6 and IL-10 association with cocaine and IL-6 in association with cannabis. In summary, except for chronic tobacco users, there was no evidence of association between other chronic substances abuse and inflammatory levels. More studies are needed to inform policy and decision makers about the utility of anti-inflammatory based targeted intervention programs.PostprintPeer reviewe

DETERMINANTS D'ACHAT DES MARQUES DE DISTRIBUTEURS SUR LE MARCHE AGROALIMENTAIRE TUNISIEN

En Tunisie, les marques de distributeurs sont caractérisées par une présence dans peu de catégories de produits alimentaires, une faible notoriété et des parts de marché modestes. Cette recherche se propose donc d'étudier l'attitude et le comportement du consommateur à l'égard des marques de distributeurs alimentaires "MDDA" sur la base d'une enquête auprès des consommateurs. Une analyse en composante principale et une classification des consommateurs par la méthode des nuées dynamiques ont été développées. Un modèle de régression binomiale a été estimé pour expliquer la décision d'achat des MDDA. Trois classes de consommateurs ont été identifiées : les sensibles aux promotions et à la diversité de l'offre, ceux influencés par l'image de l'enseigne et les sensibles à l'image des MDDA. Les facteurs déterminant l'achat des MDDA sont la "notoriété" et la "perception" des MDDA avec un effet positif sur les achats d'où la nécessité d'un grand effort de communication pour recruter de nouveaux consommateurs. Ce ciblage devrait se baser sur l'âge et la taille de ménage, qui sont les facteurs socio-démographiques ayant un effet positif sur les achats des MDDA. En effet, la probabilité d’achat des MDDA augmente chez les consommateurs âgés de plus que 45 ans et de manière proportionnelle à la taille des ménages. En revanche, la fidélité à une enseigne de distribution particulière et la sensibilité des consommateurs aux promotions des ventes a un effet négatif sur la probabilité d’achat des MDDA. In Tunisia, store brands are present in few food product categories, they have low awareness and market share. The aim of this research is to diagnose consumer attitudes and behaviour towards store-brand foods based on a consumer survey. An PCA and a cluster analysis have been developed. A binomial regression model was estimated to explain the decision of store-brand foods purchase. Three consumer groups were identified: those sensitive to promotions and to products diversity, those influenced by store image and those sensitive to the store-brand foods image. Factors determining the purchase of store-brand foods the awareness and perception of store-brand foods that have a positive effect on purchase decision. Considerable efforts of communication are needed to recruit new consumers. Consumers targeting should be based on their age and their household size, these socio-demographic variable have a positive effect on store-brand foods purchase. In fact, the purchasing probability of store-brand foods increases among consumers over 45 years and proportionally to the household’s size. On the other hand, loyalty to a retail group and consumers’ sensitivity to promotions has a negative effect on purchasing probability of store-brand foods.

Adequacy of Iodine Status and Associations with Gut Health : A Prospective Cohort Study among Infants in 8 Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Peer reviewe

A novel crosslinked hyaluronic Acid nanogel for drug delivery

An amphiphilic hyaluronic acid conjugate is successfully developed based on grafting a thiolated hydrophobic molecule to the polysaccharide backbone. The engineered conjugate is capable of assembling into nanostructures once dispersed in water, with average diameter of 80.2 ± 0.4 nm (n = 5), stable up to 6 months. The thiolated HyA conjugate is reticulated by dissulfide bond with a homofunctional crosslinker—1,4-Bis(3-[2-pyridyldithio]propionamido)butane (DPDPB). The drug loading efficiency of the reticulated and non-reticulated nanogel is accessed with two hydrophobic drugs, curcumin and simvastatin. Results suggest that crosslinked nanogel exhibit higher stability upon dilution and drug loading efficiency and proves to be a redox sensitive material. The nanogels hold great potential as stealth carriers of lipophilic drugs.The authors would like to acknowledge the support of FCT for the PhD grant reference SFRH/BD/61516/2009

Trajectories of eating behaviour changes during adolescence

Abstract : Adolescence represents a critical transition phase during which individuals acquire eating behaviours that can track into adulthood. This study aims to characterise trends in eating behaviours throughout adolescence by investigating the presence of sub-groups of individuals presenting distinct trajectories of vegetable and fruit, sugary beverage, breakfast and fast-food consumption. Data from 744 MATCH study Canadian participants followed from 11 to 18 Years old (2013–2019) were included in the analyses. Participants reported how often they ate breakfast and consumed vegetables and fruits, sugary beverages and fast foods. Trajectories of eating behaviours over seven years were identified using group-based multi-trajectory modelling. For girls, three different groups were identified, namely ‘stable food intake with a decline in daily breakfast consumption’ (39.9%), ‘moderate food intake and worsening in overall eating behaviours’ (38.0%) and ‘stable high food intake’ (22.1%). For boys, five different groups were identified, namely ‘low food intake with stable daily breakfast consumption’ (27.3%), ‘breakfast-skippers and increasing fast food intake’ (27.1%), ‘low food intake with a decline in daily breakfast consumption’ (23.9%), ‘high food intake with worsening of eating behaviours’ (13.3%) and ‘average food intake with consistently high breakfast consumption’ (8.4%). Eating behaviours evolve through various distinct trajectories and sub-groupspecific strategies may be required to promote healthy eating behaviours among adolescents

Parental control and support for physical activity predict adolescents’ moderate to vigorous physical activity over five years

Abstract : Background: Social factors are important determinants of youth physical activity (PA), but the longitudinal association between parental behaviours and adolescent PA has not been clearly assessed. This prospective study examined average and lagged associations between perceived parental support and control with adolescents’ moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA); and assessed the independent associations between specific parental support and control behaviours and adolescents’ MVPA. Methods: Data from three cycles of the MATCH study, when 374 participants were 12, 16 and 17 years old, were included in this analysis. At each cycle, participants self-reported questionnaires on perceived tangible parental support, intangible support, and control behaviours as well as number of days per week attaining at least 60 min of MVPA. Mixed effect models were used to assess the longitudinal relationship between parental behaviours and MVPA. Cross-lagged panel design was used to assess the association of parental behaviours during early adolescence with MVPA during late adolescence. Results: Overall parental support (coef. = 0.46, P < 0.0001), tangible support (coef. = 0.37, P < 0.0001), encouragement (coef. = 0.12, P = 0.025) and transportation (coef. = 0.25, P < 0.0001) were positively associated with MVPA, whereas parental control was a negative predictor of MVPA (coef. = − 0.18, P = 0.003). Perceived parental behaviours appeared to have long term associations (5 y.) with MVPA as parent support (coef. = 0.40, P = 0.006) and coparticipation (coef. = 0.33, P = 0.017) reported around age 12 were positively associated with MVPA measured 5 years later. Conclusions: Parental support for PA, particularly in the form of tangible support, may be a key factor to include in interventions aiming to promote PA during adolescence. In contrast, parents should be encouraged to avoid control behaviours as these appear to lead to lower MVPA among adolescents