TY - JOUR
T1 - Polydrug use and its association with drug treatment outcomes among primary heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine users
AU - Wang, Linwei
AU - Min, Jeong Eun
AU - Krebs, Emanuel
AU - Evans, Elizabeth
AU - Huang, David
AU - Liu, Lei
AU - Hser, Yih Ing
AU - Nosyk, Bohdan
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by US National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse [ R01DA032551 ]; and for the UCLA ISAP Center for Advancing Longitudinal Drug Abuse Research (CALDAR) [ P30 DA016383 ]. Dr. Bohdan Nosyk is supported by a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar award.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2017/11
Y1 - 2017/11
N2 - Background Polydrug use may challenge effective treatment for substance use disorders. We evaluate whether secondary substance use modifies the association between treatment and primary drug use among primary heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine (MA) users. Methods Data were obtained from prospective cohort studies on people who use illicit drugs (PWUD) in California, USA. Using repeated monthly data on self-reported secondary substance use (heroin, cocaine, MA, alcohol or marijuana; ≥1 day in a month), primary drug use (≥1 day in a month), and treatment participation, collected via timeline follow-back, we fitted generalized linear mixed multiple regression models controlling for potential confounders to examine the interactions between treatment and secondary substance use on the odds of primary heroin, cocaine and MA use, respectively. Results Included in our study were 587 primary heroin, 444 primary MA, and 501 primary cocaine users, with a median of 32.4, 13.3 and 18.9 years of follow-up, respectively. In the absence of secondary substance use, treatment was strongly associated with decreased odds of primary drug use (adjusted odds ratios (aORs): 0.25, 95% CI: 0.24, 0.27, 0.07 (0.06, 0.08), and 0.07 (0.07, 0.09)) for primary heroin, MA, and cocaine users, respectively. Secondary substance use of any kind moderated these associations (0.82 (0.78, 0.87), 0.25 (0.21, 0.30) and 0.53 (0.45, 0.61), respectively), and these findings were consistent for each type of secondary substance considered. Moreover, we observed different associations in terms of direction and magnitude between secondary substance use and primary drug use during off-treatment periods across substance types. Conclusion This study demonstrates secondary substance use moderates the temporal associations between treatment and primary drug use among primary heroin, MA and cocaine users. Disparate patterns of polydrug use require careful measurement and analysis to inform targeted treatment for polydrug users.
AB - Background Polydrug use may challenge effective treatment for substance use disorders. We evaluate whether secondary substance use modifies the association between treatment and primary drug use among primary heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine (MA) users. Methods Data were obtained from prospective cohort studies on people who use illicit drugs (PWUD) in California, USA. Using repeated monthly data on self-reported secondary substance use (heroin, cocaine, MA, alcohol or marijuana; ≥1 day in a month), primary drug use (≥1 day in a month), and treatment participation, collected via timeline follow-back, we fitted generalized linear mixed multiple regression models controlling for potential confounders to examine the interactions between treatment and secondary substance use on the odds of primary heroin, cocaine and MA use, respectively. Results Included in our study were 587 primary heroin, 444 primary MA, and 501 primary cocaine users, with a median of 32.4, 13.3 and 18.9 years of follow-up, respectively. In the absence of secondary substance use, treatment was strongly associated with decreased odds of primary drug use (adjusted odds ratios (aORs): 0.25, 95% CI: 0.24, 0.27, 0.07 (0.06, 0.08), and 0.07 (0.07, 0.09)) for primary heroin, MA, and cocaine users, respectively. Secondary substance use of any kind moderated these associations (0.82 (0.78, 0.87), 0.25 (0.21, 0.30) and 0.53 (0.45, 0.61), respectively), and these findings were consistent for each type of secondary substance considered. Moreover, we observed different associations in terms of direction and magnitude between secondary substance use and primary drug use during off-treatment periods across substance types. Conclusion This study demonstrates secondary substance use moderates the temporal associations between treatment and primary drug use among primary heroin, MA and cocaine users. Disparate patterns of polydrug use require careful measurement and analysis to inform targeted treatment for polydrug users.
KW - Alcohol
KW - Cocaine
KW - Heroin
KW - Marijuana
KW - Methamphetamine
KW - Polydrug use
KW - Treatment
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U2 - 10.1016/j.drugpo.2017.07.009
DO - 10.1016/j.drugpo.2017.07.009
M3 - Article
C2 - 28888099
AN - SCOPUS:85028874674
SN - 0955-3959
VL - 49
SP - 32
EP - 40
JO - International Journal of Drug Policy
JF - International Journal of Drug Policy
ER -
