Biomedical subjects

Mary-Lynn Brecht

Publications and source records attributed to Mary-Lynn Brecht.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

Self-reported health status among treated methamphetamine users.

Very little research has examined how drug abuse is related to general health status over the long term among both young and middle-aged adults. In this article, we investigate how self-reported health status is related to prolonged methamphetamine (MA) use in a diverse sample of MA users from ages 18 to 52 who have been treated for drug abuse in Los Angeles County. Using retrospective data, we investigate how prolonged MA use within younger and older age groups is related to two self-reported measures of current health status: the presence of a health condition that began after starting illegal drug use, and overall health. We control for the effects of drug use history, social and demographic factors, and other early experiences (e.g., early sexual abuse) that might be obstacles to achieving good health later in life. We find that having a current health condition is predicted by greater age and by more prolonged MA use, especially among younger people. Early sexual abuse predicts both measures of poor health. Current health status is predicted by several measures of drug use history and early experiences, but by fewer social and demographic factors. The results suggest that reduction of MA use among younger people is important in promoting their later health and that MA treatment services could be improved by a greater understanding of how early experiences influence later health.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Differential predictors of emotional distress in HIV-infected men and women.

Changes in the AIDS epidemic in many areas of the United States require information about the experience of the growing segment of women afflicted. This study compared patterns of emotional distress between men and women with symptomatic HIV and examined potential predictors of different levels of vulnerability. A sample of 126 low socioeconomic men and women seeking care from HIV treatment centers was surveyed using measures of physical and psychological well-being. Women had more HIV symptoms, poorer functioning, and greater disruptions in physical and psychosocial well-being. Physical health status and optimism were primary predictors of emotional distress in both men and women. More than 50% of men and women had scores indicative of clinical anxiety. Approximately 1 out of 10 had clinically relevant scores for depression. Gender differences may provide potentially useful information for tailoring assessment interventions for emotional distress in people infected with HIV.

Clinical Nursing Research↗

PubMed2002

Use ecology and drug use motivations of methamphetamine users admitted to substance abuse treatment facilities in Los Angeles: an emerging profile.

Who are methamphetamine (MA) users and what are the circumstances that surround their drug use? This article provides a foundation for future ethnographic studies and collaborative clinician-researcher assessments of MA use by describing use ecology and drug use motivation for 260 MA users admitted to treatment at public Los Angeles County facilities in 1996. Use ecology data include MA varieties and street names, first introductions to use, drug use histories, access, selling and manufacturing, routes of administration, unwanted results of use, and participants' use behavior in the year before the 1996 treatment. Use motivation data describe clients using MA as a substitute for other stimulants; to cope with mental distress; to stay awake; to enhance sexual experience; and to lose weight. Qualitative case studies illustrate the findings and demonstrate the complex inter-relations of society, culture, psyche and soma shaping MA use over time.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Quality of life in women with heart failure, normative groups, and patients with other chronic conditions.

BACKGROUND: In the United States, 2.5 million women have heart failure, yet little is known about their quality of life. Because most studies included small samples of women, the results are not generalizable. OBJECTIVE: To compare the quality of life of women with heart failure with that of a normative group and with that of women with other chronic conditions. METHODS: Descriptive techniques were applied to baseline data collected in the Studies of Left Ventricular Dysfunction trials to characterize quality of life in women with heart failure (n = 691). Global quality of life and the quality-of-life dimensions of physical function, emotional distress, social health, and general health were measured by using the Ladder of Life, items from the Profile of Mood States Inventory, the Functional Status Questionnaire, the Beta Blocker Heart Attack Trial instrument, and an item from the RAND Medical Outcomes Study instrument. RESULTS: Compared with the normative group of women, women with heart failure had significantly lower global quality of life; worse vigor, intermediate activities of daily living, social activity, and general health ratings; and higher ratings for anxiety and depression. Fewer than half of the women with heartfailure felt that they were healthy enough to perform normal activities. CONCLUSIONS: Women with heart failure have worse quality of life than do normative populations and patients with other chronic diseases such as hypertension, Parkinson disease, and cancer.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Differences between Ecstasy-using and nonusing methamphetamine users.

There have been recent alarming increases in Ecstasy use and growing evidence of possible long-term neurological and cognitive effects. This article considers Ecstasy use within its common polydrug context (specifically with methamphetamine [MA]), examining differences between Ecstasy-using and nonusing subgroups of clients treated for MA use, and exploring the relationship of Ecstasy use to selected treatment outcomes. Multivariate logistic regression showed Ecstasy+MA users differing from MA users who have not used Ecstasy primarily in terms of sociodemographics (higher income, fewer children), substance abuse behaviors and motivators (lifetime history of more types of drugs, more likely to report use of Ecstasy to enhance sex, more drug-related problems), lifestyle (more likely to have had same-sex sex partners), and treatment characteristics (younger at admission, less likely to complete treatment). A lower rate of treatment completion was predicted by Ecstasy use, even when controlling for other Ecstasy-related characteristics; however, time to relapse was not significantly related to Ecstasy use. These results distinguishing subgroups of stimulant users may help guide additional research into specific behavioral causes and correlates of Ecstasy use, which could in turn guide specialization of promising MA-related treatment approaches for Ecstasy users.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Nurse visitation for adolescent mothers: two-year infant health and maternal outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Children of adolescent mothers have higher rates of morbidity and unintentional injuries and hospitalizations during the first 5 years of life than do children of adult mothers. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the 2-year postbirth infant health and maternal outcomes of an early intervention program (EIP) of home visitation by public health nurses (PHNs). METHODS: In a randomized controlled trial, a sample of predominantly Latina and African American adolescent mothers was followed from pregnancy through 2 years postpartum. The experimental group (EIP, n = 56) received preparation-for-motherhood classes plus intense home visitation by PHNs from pregnancy through 1 year postbirth; the control group (TPHNC, n = 45) received traditional public health nursing care (TPHNC). Health outcomes were determined based on medical record data; other measures evaluated selected maternal behaviors, social competence, and mother-child interactions. RESULTS: The total days of non-birth-related infant hospitalizations during the first 24 months was significantly lower in the EIP (143 days) than the TPHNC group (211 days) and episodes of hospitalization were fewer; more EIP than THHNC infants were never seen in the emergency room. The EIP mothers had 15% fewer repeat pregnancies in the first 2 years postbirth than TPHNC mothers. The TPHNC mothers significantly increased marijuana use over time, whereas EIP mothers did not. CONCLUSIONS: The EIP improved in selected areas of infant and maternal health, and these improvements were sustained for a period of 1 year following program termination. These findings have important implications for healthcare services.

Adolescent↗