A 24-Year Follow-up of California Narcotics Addicts

Abstract

The results suggest that the eventual cessation of narcotics use is a very slow process, unlikely to occur for some addicts, especially if they have not ceased use by their late 30s.

Twenty-five year mortality of US servicemen deployed in Vietnam: predictive utility of early drug use

“…We found considerable predictive utility of drug use measures for the mortality outcome after 25 years, while controlling for other significant predictors. That 'drug abuse kills' is known from studies showing high follow-up mortality rates among drug abusers (Vaillant, 1973;Engströ m et al, 1991;Hser et al, 1993). We demonstrated more specifically that self-reported drug use up to respondents' mid-20s can predict subsequent death over 25 years.…”

“…The results are not generalizable to the entire population of Vietnam veterans as our cohort represented a relatively late cohort of Army Vietnam veterans, and did not include officers. The study results, however, are more generalizable than are long-term follow-ups of illicit drug abusers obtained from treatment (Wahren et al, 1997;Ghodse et al, 1998) or criminal justice systems (Hser et al, 1993). Not all deaths were included in the assessment of the predictive utility of self-reported early drug use for mortality, as the measures were unavailable for deaths that occurred prior to the VDUR surveys (see Table 2, footnotes).…”

The Genetics of Opioid Addiction Risk Evaluation Tool (GREAT) for Treatment Response in Methadone Patients

“…The risk of mortality from overdose, violence, infectious disease, and alcohol related causes are substantially higher among opioid addiction patients with long history of drug use (17,18). One study also noted that patients who continue to use opioids into their 30's face an unlikely chance of eventual opioid cessation (18).…”

The CHANGE Study: Methods and Sample Description for a Cross-Sectional Study of Heroin Cessation in New York City

“…Recovery has been described as a process that takes years before cessation is complete, with relapses often occurring along the way. 7,8 Cyclical patterns of use, non-use, and treatment are common. 2,[7][8][9][10][11][12] These patterns may be related to a variety of factors including opportunity and availability of the drug, detention/ incarceration, and treatment (by type, duration, quality), among other factors.…”

“…7,8,[16][17][18][19][20] Indeed, much of the extant literature about heroin cessation has focused on the role of treatment. There are three main treatment modalities available for heroin abuse: pharmacotherapy (e.g., methadone, buprenorphine, etc.…”