Drug abuse treatment is a major method for reducing the health and social problems associated with dependence on psychoactive drugs. Drug dependence is very well established in the United States, where cyclical rises and falls in the use of different drugs often occur. Heroin and cocaine use are spreading rapidly throughout the world as a whole, particularly in developing countries. The need for effective treatments for drug dependence is likely to increase in the foreseeable future. Currently three major forms of long-term drug abuse treatment exist: methadone maintenance, in which an agonist medication is used to normalize physiological functioning; residential therapeutic communities, which are based on "resocializing" the drug user; and outpatient drug-free programs, which utilize a wide variety of counseling and psychotherapy approaches. Multiple large treatment outcome studies have been conducted among persons receiving treatment for drug dependence and have shown consistent effects in reducing the use of psychoactive drugs, though complete elimination of drug use is an infrequent outcome. Length of time in drug treatment is the best single predictor of positive post-treatment outcomes. HIV infection has become an extremely important adverse consequence associated with the injection of psychoactive drugs. Multiple studies have shown that drug abuse treatment is an effective method for preventing HIV infection among injecting drug users.

HIV Infections↗

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Cold-related cardiac mortality in King County, Washington, USA 1980-2001.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that cardiac deaths increase during the winter months and that death rates can be tightly predicted from temperature rather than other atmospheric phenomena such as barometric pressure, humidity, or pollution. AIM: The object of this study is to examine the possible relationship between temperature and cardiac death rates in King County, Washington, USA and suggest possible public health measures that can decrease the number of cardiac deaths associated with cold exposure. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: State death records show that 62,125 total out-of-hospital cardiac-related deaths among persons 55 years and older occurred in King County between 1980 and 2001. We use Poisson regression to examine the association between same-day daily average temperature and death rate after adjusting for seasonal effects. RESULTS: We identified a significant negative association between daily average temperature and cardiac mortality among persons over 55 years of age. A 5 degrees C increase in temperature was associated with a decrease in death rate by a factor of 0.971 (95% CI: 0.961, 0.982). CONCLUSION: Cold temperatures may be an important triggering factor in bringing on the onset of life-threatening cardiac events, even in regions with relatively mild winters. Public health efforts stressing cold exposure while out of doors may play a prominent role in encouraging a reduction in cold stress, especially among seniors and those already at higher risk of cardiac death.

Aged↗

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