The high prevalence of substance use disorders among recent MDMA users compared with other drug users: Implications for intervention.
Abstract
In light of the resurgence in MDMA use and its association with polysubstance use,
we investigated the 12-month prevalence of substance use disorders (SUDs) among adult
MDMA users to determine whether they are at risk of other drug-related problems that
would call for targeted interventions.Data were drawn from the 2006 National Survey
on Drug Use and Health. Past-year adult drug users were grouped into three mutually
exclusive categories: 1) recent MDMA users, who had used the drug within the past
year; 2) former MDMA users, who had a history of using this drug but had not done
so within the past year; and 3) other drug users, who had never used MDMA. Logistic
regression procedures were used to estimate the association between respondents' SUDs
and MDMA use while adjusting for their socioeconomic status, mental health, age of
first use, and history of polydrug use.Approximately 14% of adults reported drug use
in the past year, and 24% of those past-year drug users reported a history of MDMA
use. Recent MDMA users exhibited the highest prevalence of disorders related to alcohol
(41%), marijuana (30%), cocaine (10%), pain reliever/opioid (8%), and tranquilizer
(3%) use. Adjusted logistic regression analyses revealed that, relative to other drug
users, those who had recently used MDMA were twice as likely to meet criteria for
marijuana and pain reliever/opioid use disorders. They were also about twice as likely
as former MDMA users to meet criteria for marijuana, cocaine, and tranquilizer use
disorders.Seven out of ten recent MDMA users report experiencing an SUD in the past
year. Adults who have recently used MDMA should be screened for possible SUDs to ensure
early detection and treatment.
Type
Journal articleSubject
HumansSubstance-Related Disorders
Amphetamine-Related Disorders
N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine
Epidemiologic Methods
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Age of Onset
Socioeconomic Factors
Adolescent
Adult
Child
United States
Female
Male
Young Adult
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/20004Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1016/j.addbeh.2009.03.029Publication Info
Wu, Li-Tzy; Parrott, Andy C; Ringwalt, Christopher L; Patkar, Ashwin A; Mannelli,
Paolo; & Blazer, Dan G (2009). The high prevalence of substance use disorders among recent MDMA users compared with
other drug users: Implications for intervention. Addictive behaviors, 34(8). pp. 654-661. 10.1016/j.addbeh.2009.03.029. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/20004.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Daniel German Blazer
J. P. Gibbons Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry
I am currently semi-retired. Most of my recent work has been focused on roles with
the National Academy of Medicine (former Institute of Medicine). I have chaired three
committees during the past four years, one on the mental health and substance use workforce,
one on cognitive aging, and one on hearing loss in adults. I currently also chair
the Board on the Health of Select Populations for the National Academies. In the past
I have been PI on a number of research
Paolo Mannelli
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Ashwin Anand Patkar
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Li-Tzy Wu
Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Education/Training: Pre- and post-doctoral training in mental health service research,
psychiatric epidemiology (NIMH T32), and addiction epidemiology (NIDA T32) from Johns
Hopkins University School of Public Health (Maryland); Fellow of the NIH Summer Institute
on the Design and Conduct of Randomized Clinical Trials.Director: Duke Community Based
Substance Use Disorder Research Program.Research interests: COVID-19, Opioid misuse,
Opioid overdose, Opioid use disorder
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