Drugs of Abuse and the Immune System

Eisenstein, Toby K.; Kaminsky, David E.; Rahim, Rahil T.; Rogers, Thomas J.

doi:10.1007/978-0-387-72573-4_37

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 108 publications

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“…It has been documented in the literature that drug abuse might enhance the susceptibility to infections by negatively modulating the immunity of drug addicted individuals (Eisenstein et al, 2008;Friedman et al, 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prevalence of antibodies toToxocara canisand its associated risk factors in socio‐economically deprived nomadic communities of Pakistan

Awais

Zahoor

Akhtar

et al. 2023

Zoonoses and Public Health

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Toxocariasis is an important zoonotic disease caused by Toxocara (T.) canis with considerably higher prevalence in developing countries. The data on its epidemiology, especially in socioeconomically deprived nomadic communities, are scarce in Pakistan. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of anti‐T. canis antibodies and its associated risk factors in nomadic communities located in and around Multan, Pakistan. A total of 184 sera samples were collected from nomadic communities by simple random sampling technique. The descriptive epidemiological data of participants were collected on well‐designed questionnaires. Prior consent was also obtained from the participants to use the data generated from their samples without showing their identity. All the samples were analysed for the detection of anti‐T. canis antibodies using commercially available Enzyme‐Linked‐Immunosorbent‐Assay (ELISA) kits having 91% sensitivity and 96% specificity (Bordier Affinity Products, Switzerland). The overall seroprevalence of toxocariasis among nomadic communities was 27.7% (51/184). Various factors, including age, known disease history, nutritional status, contact with dogs, practice of hand washing after contact with dogs, use of unwashed vegetables, body mass index, and drug abuse, showed significant correlation (p < 0.05) with toxocariasis in nomadic communities. Conversely, other factors, including gender, marital status, educational status, awareness about zoonotic diseases, source of drinking water, occupation, location, hand washing before taking food, exposure to soil, and hygienic eating behaviour, showed non‐significant correlation (p > 0.05) with seroprevalence of toxocariasis. Results also showed that >50% of seropositive cases were asymptomatic, whereas cough and abdominal pain were recorded in 19.6% and 11.76% of seropositive cases, respectively. Keeping in view, it is suggested to conduct surveys at mass level to rule out the exact disease status at national level and to include nomadic communities in local, national, and regional disease control programs through provision of better healthcare facilities and awareness about the disease.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Drug abuse was recorded as a significant factor associated with seroprevalence of T. canis in nomads of study area. It has been documented in the literature that drug abuse might enhance the susceptibility to infections by negatively modulating the immunity of drug addicted individuals (Eisenstein et al, 2008; Friedman et al, 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of antibodies toToxocara canisand its associated risk factors in socio‐economically deprived nomadic communities of Pakistan

Awais

Zahoor

Akhtar

et al. 2023

Zoonoses and Public Health

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“…It is well documented that persons who are isolated and stressed often turn to substances to alleviate negative feelings (Cooper, Frone, Russell, & Mudar, 1995;Volkow, 2020). This is a concern during a pandemic given alcohol and drugs weaken the body's immune system and ability to cope with infectious disease (Eisenstein, Kaminsky, Rahim, & Rogers, 2008;Friedman, Pross, & Klein, 2006). Early reports suggest substance use has increased more among women than men during the pandemic, suggesting that gender-strati ed analyses are needed (Biddle, Edwards, Gray, & Sollis, 2020;Lu et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pandemic-related PTSD symptoms and substance use among community-based adults

Currie

2020

Preprint

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Objectives: To examine: (1) the role of gender and socioeconomic status in pandemic-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and substance use; (2) associations between probable PTSD and substance use, and (3) the supports needed to address these problems. Methods: Data were collected in June 2020 from 933 community-based adults in Alberta without a previous diagnosis of PTSD. The Primary Care PTSD Screen was adapted to assess pandemic-related PTSD symptoms. Participants were asked if alcohol or cannabis use had increased in the past month. Adjusted logistic regression models examined associations between probable PTSD and substance use. Results: Significantly more women (19%) than men (13%) met criteria for probable pandemic–related PTSD, while a similar percentage (13.5% of women, 13.0% of men) reported increased substance use during the pandemic. Adults with lower income, education, or pandemic-related job loss were more vulnerable to PTSD and substance use increases. Probable pandemic-related PTSD was associated with increased substance use for both women (OR = 2.2) and men (OR = 2.3) in adjusted models. Many adults (50% of women, 40% of men) indicated they needed support to address mental health or substance use during the pandemic, particularly from friends, a physician, and/or a counsellor. Conclusions: This study examined adults who had just experienced two months of increasing COVID-19 cases and containment measures. Findings suggest women and socioeconomically vulnerable adults may be in greater need of mental health supports, and that pandemic-related PTSD is an important consideration for interventions to reduce substance use among both women and men.

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“…Evidence from human and animal studies in vivo and from experiments in vitro suggests that opioid administration alters the homeostasis of the immune system through a change of both immune cell function and cytokine production. Such changes may lead to increased susceptibility to infection (Eisenstein et al, 2008).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%