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April is Alcohol Awareness Month

April is Alcohol Awareness Month. Sponsored by the National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence (NCADD), Alcohol Awareness Month began in 1987 to increase the public’s understanding of hazardous alcohol use and alcohol use disorder, and to reduce the stigma that often comes along with these conditions. In recognition of this critical public health initiative, at the Recovery Research Institute, we wanted to pass along five important, but potentially lesser known facts about alcohol and its impact on society that are grounded in scientific research. We hope it sparks thinking and conversation about the role of alcohol in your life and the lives of those you care about.

Compared to methadone, Suboxone is associated with lower mortality but also less time in treatment

Overdose death risk related to opioid use disorder is well documented. Taking opioid agonist medications like buprenorphine, the active ingredient in Suboxone, or methadone is associated with overdose reductions of 50% or more. In this study which compared death rates of those prescribed buprenorphine versus methadone in United Kingdom primary care practices, buprenorphine patients had lower death rates than methadone patients both while receiving and not receiving the medication.

Cannabis and cognitive deficits in youth – reviewing the evidence

Studies have demonstrated that adolescents and young adults with frequent or heavy cannabis use have impaired ability to think clearly and solve problems. However, the magnitude of the cognitive difficulties seen with heavy cannabis use is dependent in part on study design. When studies require longer periods of initial abstinence before cognitive testing, youth demonstrate less cognitive impairment than when testing closer in time after recent use. But study findings are mixed. What does the latest science in this area tell us as a whole?

Medical conditions are more common among individuals who have resolved a substance use problem

Addiction can lead to or worsen many medical conditions, but until now it was not necessarily known if those in recovery from significant alcohol or other drug problems have higher rates of disease than the general U.S. population. The present study shows that in fact they do.

One game at a time: Can brain games help rehabilitate cognitive function during addiction treatment?

Substance use disorder is often accompanied by cognitive dysfunction, which can hinder treatment efforts. This study evaluates the potential for strategy training and brain gaming to improve cognition and everyday life functions in a sample of substance use disorder patients in residential treatment.

One “bad apple” spoils the bunch? Opioid treatment race inequities across the US driven by those in New York City

The opioid overdose crisis has focused primarily on White individuals, though overdoses are increasing more in Black than White individuals. This national study of metropolitan areas found racial disparities in treatment completion, but the Big Apple was at the heart of it all.

Smoking interventions can help individuals in addiction treatment quit cigarettes, although questions remain about cessation effects on treatment outcomes

Many with direct professional and personal addiction experience feel that individuals with substance use disorder who smoke cigarettes should not attempt to quit at the same time they are addressing their alcohol and drug use problems. Smoking cessation efforts during addiction treatment, they theorize, could distract individuals from focusing on resolving their more immediate alcohol/drug concerns , or might increase stress, triggering alcohol/drug craving and relapse. At the same time, it is important to know which smoking cessation interventions are best for those who do, in fact, want to quit at the same time. This meta-analysis took an empirical look at how individuals with current or former substance use disorder fare in response to various smoking cessation interventions, both in terms of cigarette smoking and substance use outcomes.

Continuing care for adolescents – can telephone support by non-professionals help?

Adolescents are at high risk for dropping out of treatment, and even among those who do complete an initial period of treatment, most return to problematic substance use. Experts increasingly recognize the importance of “continuing care”– some type of support which could be either professional or non-professional support that follows the primary treatment episode – to help adolescents maintain and build on gains made during initial treatment. Yet there are critical barriers that make it difficult for adolescents to obtain post-treatment recovery support. This study was a randomized trial that tested the effectiveness of an innovative continuing care approach that leveraged young adult volunteers to support adolescents by phone after residential treatment.

ABOUT: The Recovery Research Institute is a non-profit research institute of the Massachusetts General Hospital, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School.

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