International Journal of High Risk Behaviors and Addiction
Volume:8 Issue: 4, Dec 2019

Candidiasis is a spectrum of opportunistic fungal diseases that can manifest in drug addicts in various forms, such as stomatitis.

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of oral candidiasis caused by Candida glabrata in addicts and examine the susceptibility of isolates to two azoles.
Patients and

After taking oral samples from 131 drug addicts suspected of having oral candidiasis, Candida species were identified by culture on chromogenic Candida agar, carbohydrate-assimilation (API test), and polymerase chain reaction. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of fluconazole and voriconazole against the isolates were determined using the broth microdilution method. Data were analyzed by SPSS (version 23) using the t-test and one-way analysis of variance. A P value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Overall, 22.2% of the isolates were C. glabrata, which was more abundant among opiate addicts. Among these isolates, 61.1% were resistant to fluconazole and 44.4% were resistant to voriconazole. The MIC90 of voriconazole was 8 µg/mL, which was 16 times less than that of fluconazole (128 µg/mL). There was no statistically significant difference between the frequency of fluconazole- and voriconazole-resistant isolates (P > 0.05).

Oral candidiasis was a common problem among drug addicts. In addition, the prevalence of azole-resistant C. glabrata isolates was high among these individuals.

Using medium-term residential addiction treatment centers or camps is a routine intervention in Iran.

The present study aimed at evaluating the seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections among addicts kept in drug addiction camps in Kurdistan province of Iran.
Patients and

The current cross sectional study was conducted on 444 drug abusers engaged in the recovery process residing in 12 rehabilitation camps in Kurdistan province, Iran in 2018. The potential risk factors were collected through a checklist and assessed mainly via a standard validated questionnaire. Participants were also tested for anti-HCV, HBsAg (hepatitis B virus surface antigen), and anti-HIV IgG. Data were analyzed by descriptive methods and logistic regression model in SPSS version 21.

Totally, 444 drug abusers, 98.4% male and 1.6% female, included in the study, out of which 64 (14.4%) subjects had HCV infection and two (0.4%) had coinfection with HBV and HIV based on the results of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Higher age, single marital status, history of drug injection, and tattooing were significant factors related to HCV infection.

The obtained results demonstrated that seroprevalence of HCV among addicts engaged in the recovery process in rehabilitation camps was high. High prevalence of HCV and risk of infection transmission to other addicts in camps should be considered as one of the concerns of the health system in Iran.

Acute exposure to MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine) has some adverse effects on reproductive and cardiovascular systems, possibly because of oxidative stress induction. Supplementary vitamins such as vitamin E can decrease the rate of oxidative stress and prevent the incidence of dysfunction in organs.

This study was designed to evaluate the adverse effects of MDMA exposure on the testis and heart tissue and elucidate the protective effect of vitamin E as a potent antioxidant.
Patients and

We assigned 28 male albino mice into four equal groups including control, MDMA, MDMA + vitamin E, and olive oil as a solvent of the vitamin. Mice were killed at the end of day 35 to conduct histological and plasma examinations. To find the relationship and make pair-wise comparisons, the one-way ANOVA test and Tukey test were used, respectively.

The mean values of seminiferous epithelial height (SEH), seminiferous tubular diameter (STD), spermatogenesis indices, and the average number of Leydig and Sertoli cells were significantly lower in testicular tissues of the MDMA group. The mentioned parameters were significantly higher in the MDMA + vitamin E group than in the MDMA group (P < 0.05). The apoptosis rate in both testis and heart tissues was significantly lower in the MDMA + vitamin E group than in the MDMA group (P < 0.05). Moreover, CPK and LDH as cardiac markers were significantly higher in the MDMA group than in the other groups.

The results clearly suggest that vitamin E considerably attenuates the deleterious effects of MDMA.

Recurrence or relapse to drug abuse is a socioeconomic problem in communities. There are clear and hidden factors in addiction relapse.

Therefore, the purpose of the study was to determine the role of Substance Abuse Treatment Centers (SATCs) on relapse to addiction in Iran.

A qualitative study was carried out with an interpretational approach in Iran in 2017. The study area was Sistan and Baluchestan province located in the Southeast of Iran, where it is a transit route for drug smuggling. We selected 22 patients, who had the experience of return to addiction, by a purposive sampling method. Data were collected using semi-structured questionnaires and individual interviews that were recorded and transcribed. A content analysis method was used to analyze the data.

There were 20 (91%) male patients and about 27% of the patients were unemployed. Approximately, 68% (n = 15) of patients had drug quitting experience for one to five times. Five themes emerged as reasons for addiction recurrence including inadequate supervision on the SATCs, managers and personnel’s inappropriate behaviors, inadequate meetings at SATCs, and overstaying in these centers.

In total, SATCs may have a negative role in the treatment and recovery of patients. Therefore, more careful and constant supervision is recommended for these centers.

The adolescent faces rapid physical growth that is emotionally immature, in terms of limited experience, and fragile and vulnerable in cultural terms. The rate of change in this period is high that can cause various behavioral problems during this period.

The aim of this research was to explore the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Intervention on risky behaviors, resilience and distress tolerance among adolescents in juvenile correction and rehabilitation center.
Patients and

This research was a quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest and control group. A random sampling method was used to select 30 people in the experimental and control groups at Tehran’s Juvenile Correction and Rehabilitation Center in 2019. The control group did not receive any training and just were taken pre-test and post-test. The Iranian Adolescents Risk-Taking Scale, Distress Tolerance Scale and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale were used in this research. Multivariate analysis of variance, multivariate covariance test were performed to analyze data by SPSS V. 22 software.

The results showed that intervention in adolescents at the juvenile correction and rehabilitation center has an important impact on risky behavior, resilience, and distress tolerance.

Mindfulness can be used as an effective interventions for adolescents with risky behaviors.

Smoking is a serious, highly prevalent health problem worldwide. This paper aimed to evaluate the effects of an educational program on quitting smoking among automobile workers in Bam, Iran.

In this interventional study, one hundred male automobile workers were randomly allocated to the intervention (N = 50) and control group (N = 50) at automobile manufacturing factory in Bam, Iran in 2017. Just the intervention group participated in an educational program. The short form of Transtheoretical Model (TTM) questionnaire and also Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) were used.

Totally 50 participants in each group of the intervention (mean age = 30.90 ± 4.22) and control (mean age = 31.44 ± 3.55) groups completed the study. The mean scores for the decisional-balance in the control versus intervention group, immediately after the intervention, 3, and 6-month follow-up were 22.73 ± 2.28 vs. 18.68 ± 2.20, 21.96 ± 2.19 vs. 18.20 ± 2.08, and 22.18 ± 2.40 vs. 18.62 ± 1.97, respectively. The mean scores in the control versus intervention group for temptation were 32.30 ± 5.10 vs. 20.72 ± 3.01, 31.88 ± 5.09 vs. 24.04 ± 3.05, and 32.58 ± 4.72 vs. 24.08 ± 2.65, respectively; and for the processes of change were 70.96 ± 6.27 vs. 58.68 ± 5.89, 71.50 ± 6.88 vs. 60.48 ± 6.37, and 72.30 ± 6.66 vs. 63.02 ± 6.38, respectively. The mean scores of change in the intervention group compared to the control group at 6 months after the intervention compared to baseline were significant in terms of decisional balance (3.96 vs. -0.42; P < 0.001); situational temptation (-9.7 vs. -1.34, P < 0.001), and process of change (-6.22 vs. 1.64, P < 0.001).

This study revealed that the designed educational program could be effective in quitting smoking among automobile factory workers through decreasing temptation and increasing decisional balance and process of change.