Trajectories of Lifetime Comorbid Alcohol and Other Drug Use Disorders Through Midlife

A 22‐Year Follow‐Up (Range 16 to 23) of Original Subjects with Baseline Alcohol Use Disorders from the Collaborative Study on Genetics of Alcoholism

“…Perhaps individuals with AUDs who are followed into their 60s might have demonstrated continued alcohol problems in their 40s and 50s but be most likely to survive into their 60s if they achieved Abstinence. The different rates of Abstinence might also relate to the current long follow‐up period that gives additional opportunity for spontaneous remission that has been reported to occur in more than 20% of individuals with AUDs (Schutte et al., ; Upah et al., ).…”

“…Regardless of the outcome, the fluctuating intensity of AUDs over time and the >20% spontaneous remission for AUDs (Schutte et al., ; Upah et al., ) contribute to the importance of longer term follow‐ups (Cunningham et al., ; Schutte et al., ; Witkiewitz, ). Some of the longest published follow‐ups of heavy drinkers and those with AUDs used mortality data as the ultimate adverse outcome (Haver et al., ; Kendler et al., ; Lundin et al., ); however, these evaluations rarely included baseline predictors.…”

“…Some of the longest published follow‐ups of heavy drinkers and those with AUDs used mortality data as the ultimate adverse outcome (Haver et al., ; Kendler et al., ; Lundin et al., ); however, these evaluations rarely included baseline predictors. Studies that included a wider range of baseline predictors of outcomes often involved relatively modest‐sized samples, focused on trajectories over time rather than predictors of individual outcomes, and/or used secondary analyses of other samples that often had limited available baseline information (Gonçalves et al., ; Jacob et al., ; Penick et al., ; Upah et al., ; Vaillant, ).…”

Trajectories of Drug Abuse and Addiction Development Among FSU Immigrant Drug Users in Israel

“…Epidemiological studies confirm that substance use typically begins in adolescence and steadily increases over time, reaching a peak during the period of emerging adulthood (Tucker et al, 2005). For many users, the excessive use of drugs declines rapidly thereafter—a process known as “maturing out.” For others, the abuse continues and extends into older adulthood (Upah, Jacob, & Price, 2015). The initiation of drug use later in life is rare (Agrawal & Lynskey, 2009) and is often associated with faster cessation (Hser et al, 2007).…”

Initiation and engagement as mechanisms for change caused by collaborative care in opioid and alcohol use disorders

“…Alcohol use disorders affect an estimated 15.8 million people, an estimated 1.9 million people abuse or are dependent on prescription opioids and 323,000 are dependent on heroin (Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, 2015; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2014). OAUDs also frequently co-occur with each other and with other substance use disorders (SUDs) (Grant et al, 2015), making them more challenging to treat and more likely to be persistent and severe (McCabe and West, 2017; Moss et al, 2015; Upah et al, 2015; Witkiewitz and Vowles, 2018). …”