TUESDAY, Feb. 15, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Amphetamines can pull people into a vicious cycle of addiction, but new research now shows that people who abuse these stimulants are also five times more likely to develop psychosis than non-users.
The effect of “speed” on neurotransmitter signaling in the brain often causes psychosis symptoms such as paranoia, voices and hallucinations. These typically resolve after a few days, but may persist for years in up to 15% of users.
While the link between amphetamine abuse and psychosis is known, the degree of psychosis risk or the effectiveness of drug rehabilitation therapy has been unclear.
To learn more, the researchers analyzed data on more than 74,600 illicit amphetamine users in Taiwan and a comparison group of more than 298,000 non-users matched for age and sex.
Compared with non-users, amphetamine users had higher rates of: depression (2% versus 0.4%); anxiety (0.9% versus 0.3%); ischemic heart disease (1.3% versus 0.8%); cardiovascular disease (0.8% versus 0.45%); and stroke (1.3% versus 0.7%).
By the end of 10 years of follow-up, speed users were far more likely to have psychosis than non-users. Rates were 468 per 100,000 people among speed users and 77 per 100,000 among non-users, according to the study published online Feb. 14 in the journal Evidence-Based Mental Health.
Among speed users, psychosis was more common among those 45 and older, and also among those with a longer arrest record. Those who had been arrested five or more times had a more than six times greater risk of psychosis, the researchers noted in a journal news release.
The study also found that speed users who went to drug rehab during deferred prosecution were 26% less likely to develop psychosis than those who didn’t. This suggests that rehab may help lower the risk of psychosis, the study authors said.
“The relation of an induced paranoid psychosis with amphetamine abuse has been known for many decades. Nonetheless, our findings are from a detailed and comparative analysis using a comprehensive and large population dataset,” according to Cynthia Wei-Sheng Lee, of the Centre for Drug Abuse and Addiction at China Medical University Hospital in Taiwan, and colleagues.
“Furthermore, it would be worthwhile to investigate the health benefits and cost effectiveness of deferred prosecution for drug crime offenders by providing appropriate therapy for drug addiction,” the authors concluded.
The estimated worldwide rate of amphetamine use is less than 1%, but about one in 10 users become addicted.
More information
There’s more on amphetamines at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
SOURCE: Evidence-Based Mental Health, news release, Feb. 14, 2022
Here is what the editors at Physician’s Briefing chose as the most important COVID-19 developments for you and your practice for the week of Feb. 14 to 18, 2022. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal studies and other trusted sources that is most likely to affect clinical practice.
Scientists Report ‘Rogue Antibodies’ Behind Severe Clotting With COVID-19
FRIDAY, Feb. 18, 2022 (HealthDay News) — “Rogue antibodies” that seem to trigger severe blood clotting and illness in COVID-19 patients have been identified by scientists. The report was published online Feb. 17 in Arthritis & Rheumatology.
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Baricitinib Reduces Mortality in Critically Ill Adults With COVID-19
FRIDAY, Feb. 18, 2022 (HealthDay News) — For critically ill hospitalized patients with COVID-19 receiving invasive mechanical ventilation or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, baricitinib plus standard of care is associated with reduced mortality, according to a study published online Feb. 3 in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.
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Poor Outcomes Common With COVID-19, Acute Ischemic Stroke
FRIDAY, Feb. 18, 2022 (HealthDay News) — About half of patients with COVID-19 with acute ischemic stroke have poor outcomes, with 38.8 percent mortality, according to a study recently published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.
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Disney Lifts Mask Mandates for the Fully Vaccinated
THURSDAY, Feb. 17, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Masks will no longer be required for fully vaccinated visitors at Disneyland in California and Disney World in Florida as of Thursday, Walt Disney Co. announced. The company, which does not require proof of vaccination to get into its parks, said the decision was based on “recent trends and regulatory guidance.”
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Younger Moms Most Hesitant to Vaccinating Children Against COVID-19
THURSDAY, Feb. 17, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Younger mothers, both Black and White, are the least open to vaccinating their children against COVID-19, according to research published in the March issue of Preventive Medicine.
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COVID-19 Vaccination Safe During Pregnancy
THURSDAY, Feb. 17, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Maternal vaccination with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in pregnancy is safe and not associated with detrimental outcomes to the offspring, according to a study published online Feb. 10 in JAMA Pediatrics.
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Vaccination in Pregnancy Prevents COVID-19 Hospitalization in Infants
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 16, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Maternal completion of a two-dose primary mRNA COVID-19 vaccination series during pregnancy is 61 percent effective for preventing COVID-19 hospitalization in infants aged younger than 6 months, according to research published in the Feb. 15 early-release issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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CDC Could Loosen Indoor Mask Mandates as Early as Next Week
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 16, 2022 (HealthDay News) — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could ease its indoor masking guidance as early as next week. The agency is weighing a new benchmark for whether masks are needed, basing it on the level of severe disease and hospitalizations in a given community, two people familiar with the situation told NBC News.
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Risk for Maternal Morbidity, Death Up With SARS-CoV-2 Infection
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 16, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 infection is associated with an increased risk for serious maternal morbidity or mortality, according to a study published online Feb. 7 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Humoral Response in Hemodialysis Patients Stronger With mRNA-1273
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 16, 2022 (HealthDay News) — For patients undergoing hemodialysis, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 mRNA-1273 vaccine elicits a stronger humoral response than the BNT162b2 vaccine, according to a study published online Feb. 3 in CMAJ, the journal of the Canadian Medical Association.
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Amazon, Walmart Lift Mask Mandates for Vaccinated Employees
TUESDAY, Feb. 15, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Fully vaccinated U.S. workers at Amazon and Walmart will no longer have to wear masks unless local or state laws require them.
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COVID-19 Death After Menopause Down With Increased Estrogen Level
TUESDAY, Feb. 15, 2022 (HealthDay News) — For postmenopausal women, estrogen supplementation is associated with a reduced risk for dying from COVID-19, according to a study published online Feb. 14 in BMJ Open.
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Antibodies Persist for Infants Born to COVID-19-Vaccinated Moms
TUESDAY, Feb. 15, 2022 (HealthDay News) — A majority of infants born to COVID-19-vaccinated mothers have persistent anti-spike antibodies at six months, according to a research letter published online Feb. 7 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Vaccine Effectiveness Up After Three COVID-19 Vaccine Doses
MONDAY, Feb. 14, 2022 (HealthDay News) — COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness is increased after three doses but wanes with time since vaccination after receipt of two or three doses, according to research published in the Feb. 11 early-release issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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Extensive Placental Damage ID’d in COVID-19-Linked Stillbirths
MONDAY, Feb. 14, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Pregnant women who become infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 may develop placentitis, which can cause widespread placental destruction resulting in intrauterine and early neonatal deaths, according to a study published online Feb. 10 in the Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine.
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Odds of Severe, Critical COVID-19 Up With Vitamin D Deficiency
MONDAY, Feb. 14, 2022 (HealthDay News) — For hospitalized COVID-19 patients, preinfection vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increased likelihood of severe or critical disease, according to a study published online Feb. 3 in PLOS ONE.
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Survival High With Lung Transplant for COVID-19-Associated ARDS
MONDAY, Feb. 14, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Lung transplantation is successful for patients with COVID-19-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome, with high survival, according to a study published online Jan. 27 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Many COVID-19 Home Test Users May Act on Quarantine Inappropriately
MONDAY, Feb. 14, 2022 (HealthDay News) — At-home COVID-19 self-test kit users who rely on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration-authorized instructions may not follow the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quarantine recommendations, according to a study published online Jan. 31 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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