International Journal of High Risk Behaviors and Addiction
Volume:2 Issue: 1, Mar 2013

Apoptosis is a physiological mechanism of cell death and it can be triggered by a variety of internal and external stimuli. It has been indicated that some opium derivatives develop cell apoptosis.. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the effect of opium addiction on ovary cell apoptosis in diabetic and non-diabetic Wistar rats.. This experimental study was done on control, control-addicted, diabetic and diabetic-addicted rats. DNA fragmentation as a biomarker of apoptosis was determined by the TUNEL assay.. The blood glucose concentration in diabetic-addicted and diabetic rats was increased when compared to control (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference between weights of control, control-addicted (non-diabetic) and diabetic-addicted groups during this study. The results of this study indicated that apoptosis in addicted and diabetic-addicted ovary cells was significantly higher than in diabetic group, and also apoptosis in addicted group was significantly more than the control rats. In addition, we found that ovary cells apoptosis of diabetic rats were significantly less than in control group.. Overall, these findings suggest that opium-addiction could play an important role in ovary cell apoptosis and could be very harmful for the reproductive system. Also, ovary cells of non-diabetic rats are more susceptible to opium-induced apoptosis than those of diabetic.

Substance use and affective disorders frequently co-occur, but the role of affective dysregulation in addiction is often overlooked. There is evidence shows that substance – dependent individuals have more problems in regulating their emotions.. This study compared two commonly used emotional regulation strategies, cognitive reappraisal and suppression, in opioids and methamphetamine dependents.. One hundred forty men with substance dependence (70 Opioids, 70 Methamphetamine) were selected by accessible sampling, and they responded to Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Gross & John) and Clinical drug addiction profile (CDAP) questionnaire. SPSS software was used to analyze the results, and descriptive statistics such as frequency tables and inferential statistics including independent T test were used.. Opioids and methamphetamine dependent patients differ in reappraisal strategy (P < 0.01). These groups differ not only in reappraisal strategy, but also in the suppression (P < 0.001).. Opioids and methamphetamine dependent individuals used different strategies for regulating their emotions. The key finding was that opioids dependents prefer suppression, and methamphetamine dependents usually use reappraisal for this purpose

Co-use of heroin kerack with methamphetamine (MA) is a new epidemic health concern among Iranian female drug users. Yet, little is known about this issue because of stigma.. The current study aimed to investigate the reasons associated with initial and continued co-use of heroin kerack with MA among two groups of regular and recreational female co-users, their motivations associated with treatment entry and to compare their general characteristics at a drop in center (DIC) in Tehran.. 82 clients were randomly recruited. A researcher-designed questionnaire was used to collect data. Data was analyzed by performing descriptive statistics, the Chi-square test and t-test.. The mean age of the participants were 31 (SD = 8) years. Reducing negative affect (55%), addicted family and social networks (50%), curiosity (48%), and the lack of knowledge on addictive effects of co-use of heroin kerack with MA (32%) were the most frequently reported reasons at initiation. Drug dependence (71%) and drug availability (56%) were reasons of continued co-use. Restoring health (61%), fear from becoming MA abuser only (33%), and fear from making a transition from heroin kerack and MA smoking to injection (15%) were important motivations for treatment entry. Regular co-users were more likely to be single (41.7% vs. 14.7%, P < 0.001), jobless (45.8% vs. 38.2, P < 0.05), homemaker (50% vs. 35.3%, P < 0.01), recently incarcerated (16.7% vs. 11.7%, P < 0.01), and were less likely to be enrolled in opioid replacement programs (33.5% vs. 41%, P < 0.01). Regular co-users were younger (30.6 vs. 32.1 years, P < 0.05), less educated (9.6 vs. 10.8 years, P < 0.05) and had a longer duration of drug dependence (9.6 vs. 8 years, P < 0.05).. Reasons associated with initial and continued co-use of heroin kerack with MA, factors associated with treatment entry and the differences between regular and recreational co-users should be specifically considered in designing and tailoring drug use treatment programs for this group

Adolescence is considered as an important phase for beginning sexual high risk behaviors that increases the possibility of negative, unpleasant and problematic consequences like unwanted pregnancy and probability of copulative disease transmission.. To determine the prevalence of sexual risk taking among students in Tehran and to develop and test a model for the relationship between parental monitoring and affiliation with deviant peers as they predict youth risky sexual behaviors.. In this cross sectional study, 1266 adolescents were recruited from high schools in Tehran and three scales of sexual risk behavior, parental monitoring and adolescent affiliation with deviant peers were completed. Data was analyzed using independent sample t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient and structural equation modeling.. According to the results, about one-fifth of subjects were at high risk in terms of unsafe sexual relationships. The percent of positive attitude among males was nearly 2 times more than that of females. The investigated model for the mediating role of affiliation with deviant peers in the relationship between parental monitoring and sexual risk taking was confirmed and explained 0.32 of sexual risk taking variance.. The results of this study suggested that parental monitoring and affiliation with deviant peers largely explained sexual risk taking among adolescents. Therefore, prevention efforts aimed at reducing risky sex should compose of these factors. In fact, the results suggested that earlier prevention efforts may be warranted

Due to its progressive nature in all aspects of life, addiction endangers the health of individuals, families and the society.. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of self-regulation and affective control in predicting interpersonal reactivity of drug addicts.. This research is a correlation study. The statistical population of this study includes all drug addicts who were referred to addiction treatment centers of Ardabil in 2011 of whom 160 addicts were selected through convenience sampling. A self-regulation questionnaire, interpersonal reactivity questionnaire and affective control scale were used for data collection.. Research results showed that self-regulation (r = -0.40) and affective control (r = -0.29) have a significant relationship with interpersonal reactivity of addicts (P < 0.001). The results of the multiple regression analysis indicated that 19 percent of interpersonal reactivity can be predicted by self-regulation and affective control.. These results suggest that self-regulation and affective control play an important role in exacerbating as well as reducing interpersonal reactivity of addicts

Health promotion for adolescents has become a research priority worldwide and life at school offers a good opportunity to establish health promoting behavior among this age group.. This study aimed to investigate health behaviors of a sample of adolescents in Bandar Abbas, Iran.. Totally, 410 students including 204 males and 206 females studying in grades 9 to 12 and aged between 15–18 years old were studied. The instruments used to collect data were a self administered demographic questionnaire and the scale of Adolescent Health Promotion (AHP).. The mean age of participants was 16.5 (SD = 1.34) years. The mean score of Adolescent Health Promotion (AHP) scale was 64.8 (SD = 8.9) ranging from 34.3 to 89.9. Female students scored significantly higher for health-responsibility, life-appreciation, and stress-management than male students (P < 0.05). In contrast, male students scored higher scores on exercise behavior than female (P < 0.05). All dimensions of AHP scale except for nutrition behavior and social support was associated with gender and nutrition behavior was associated with age (P < 0.05).. This study indicated that sedentary life style and physical inactivity is a common and serious problem among high school students of Bandar Abbas

The existing studies have indicated that persons with positive attitude and believe to narcotics have more addiction than those with negative or natural attitudes. The aim of the present study was to specify the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral training on increasing of self-concept's measure, and the attitude style toward narcotic drugs in addicted prisoners of Tonekabon.. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of cognitive-behavioral training on increasing self-concept and the attitude style toward narcotic drugs..Patients and Statistical population included 450 persons. After screening, 65 entered the study. Among them, 40 persons were selected randomly and allocated in experimental and control group. Self-concept and gauge attitude questionnaire were used to gather the data. The program of cognitive–behavioral training was executed at 12 weekly sessions in 120 minutes for experimental group. The past-quest was executed after finishing training for two groups.. The result using analysis of covariance showed that the difference between two groups on self–concept and the attitude toward narcotic drugs was significant at (P < 0.5).. Therefore it can be resulted that cognitive–behavioral training is effective on self–concept and the changing of attitude toward narcotic drugs

I read with interest the article by Bayrami et al., reporting the predictive ability of drug use for subjects with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms (1). The target 361 subjects were sampled randomly from 5129 university students, and a cross-sectional survey was conducted by using a questionnaire. Recently, Lichtenstein et al. conducted a follow-up study to know the effect of medication for 25,656 ADHD patients on criminality (2). They concluded that the use of medication for ADHD reduces significantly the risk criminality. These two surveys contain completely different population from the viewpoint on the severity of ADHD. Although Bayrami et al. mentioned that there was a positive relationship between ADHD symptoms and drug use, a further study is needed to make a finalconclusion. First, their study is a cross-sectional study, and cause-effect relationship cannot be defined. Second, the target subjects are composed mainly of healthy young population, and clinical diagnosis of ADHD has not been made. Third, Pearson's moment correlation coefficient using scores from the questionnaire on ADHD and addiction acknowledgment scale score or Mac Andrew alcoholism scale scores showed under 0.4. This means that the relationship is not so strong, although a significant relationship was observed. This fact was also clarified by the multiple regression analysis, which was presented in Tables 2 and 3. Adjusted square values of R (multiple correlation coefficients) were under 0.16, which meant that each explanation rate was under one-sixthof all the variance. Before describing the predictive ability as they conducted, I recommend to describe the characteristics of the target university students. By this process, trace ability of their results by other researchers would improve. In anyway, there is a need for more studies to conclude the effect of ADHD symptoms on drug use including alcoholism.

Dear Editor,Drug dependence is a chronic and often recurrent disorder which is associated with many problems such as AIDS, hepatitis, etc. This disorder requires treatment management over time. Methadone maintenance therapy is one addiction treatment method which prevents not only the recurrence of drug dependence, but also it improves mental and physical status of the patient (1). Addiction compulsive treatment is one treatment measure which is used to treat addicts (2). The application of this therapy scientifically began in the world in the middle of 1980s (3). In our country, for the first time in 2007, law enforcement and health care systems jointly developed a protocol to provide a treatment measure for this disorder and reduce complications associated with compulsory treatment (4). These centers are established in many provinces. They were launched in Zahedan in the TaL-e-Siah area in February 2012. First, the addicts were arrested by police force. Then, they were transferred to health care center for methadone maintenance therapy after they were screened by police force. One criterion justifying entrance of addicts to these centers (the reason behind transferring the addicts to health care centers) was that these patients were homelessness and had no permanent and suitable jobs for living affairs. Due to lack of jobs, these patients tend to various ways to get drug..A few numbers of researches have been done in this field in these centers since this therapy is still new and were not used for treatment much. For example, the research result of compulsory treatment center of Shafagh Tehran showed that only 17.7% of addicts had permanent jobs or were retired while 82.3% of addicts had no jobs or had temporary or illegal jobs (2). This study was designed and conducted with the purpose of examining ways to earn money in addicts who were involuntary admitted to compulsory treatment center of Zahedan TaL-e-Siah..This was a cross-sectional study which type was descriptive - analytical. The sample was selected from all addicted male individuals who were arrested by police force. Among these arrested addicts, 100 individuals were selected and transferred to Zahedan TaL-e-Siah center to be treated by methadone maintenance therapy. Data collection was done by a questionnaire which consisted of 19 questions. These questions included demographic data as well as information regarding ways to earn money in addicts as follows: beggary, theft, junk seeking, extortion, family, drug sales, etc. Research data was also collected from interviews which questioner had performed and data analysis by SPSS 19 software. The results showed that mean age of these patients was 32 years old in which 49% of them had education level under elementary school, 34% of them had education level under diploma, 17 % of them had diploma and education level higher than diploma, 40 % of them had a history of suicide and self-mutilation, 68 % of them had a history of imprisonment, 55 % of them were single and 45 % of them were married. Sixty-two percent of these addicts had stated that their source of income was their families; however, they had taken money from their families by force. Other sources of incomes of these patients were as follows: 24% theft, 22% junk seeking, 20% drug sales, 17% proletarian, 14% temporary job, 8% Driving, 5% extortion, 4% dismissed employee of the government, 3% contraband. According to the results of the research, and higher percent of unemployment and criminal records of the addicts, it can be said that drug consumption has probably a direct relationship with unemployment and crime commitment. In other words, if unemployment among addicts increases, drug consumption and tendency to fake incomes will increase. The addicts inevitably tend to commit crime because no employer would willingly give them a job. Therefore, the addict tends to theft, junk seeking, drug sale, beggary, etc. in order to buy drug for themselves. As a result, this damaged cycle will repeat again and again. Moreover, high percent of suicide and self-mutilation background represent despair and depression and borderline personality disorder and other psychiatric disorders in these addicts. This issue needs immediate treatment interventions. One purpose of establishing compulsive drug treatment centers is to teach some profession to the addicts in various fields through vocational training and employment organization. If this comes off, hopefully fake jobs and crime commitment would reduce and as a result drug demand would decrease

Dear Editor,Iran as a developing country is experiencing major changes at different economic and cultural levels. Along with all these changes, the population is also growing and number of young people is increasing. The alarm bells are ringing as the new studies show the high prevalence of addiction and risky behaviors among Iranian youth population (1). Previously studies on addiction in Iran have reported the prevalence of opium addiction to be between 1.2 to 8.8% (2, 3). Addiction is a national issue and affecting a large number of people throughout the country and it is important to be addressed through national programs. Religion is a well-established source of comfort and relief through human history. Today, scientific studies have proved the major role that religious belief could play in mental and physical health (4). To this fact, religious based therapies and treatments approaches are now widely used in the health programs especially in psychiatry and psychology (5). Many of the current well known psychotherapies such as mindfulness, Alcoholic Anonymous (AA), and 12-steps programs are rooted in religious beliefs and concepts. Despite the growing interest toward the research about religion and health in the world (6), studies seeking this relationship in Iran are limited and lacking. Religion and religious practice could have both protective and healing effects. Evidences from studies conducted mostly in western countries have shown a significant fewer number of drug addicted persons among more religious people (7). On the other hand, religion can help recovery from addiction mostly through increasing social supports and enhancement of positive emotions. A study which has been conducted with a sample of drug users in Brazil, suggests that religion-based treatments could be used beside conventional addiction therapies as a complementary treatment method (8). Religious beliefs could promote pro social behavior and a sense of meaning in life. As Koenig (7), mentions in his article titled “Research on Religion, Spirituality, and Mental Health: A Review”, religion and religious beliefs could offer psychological and emotional support throughout hard times in life. Religion could provide free full-time mental health services to anyone in any place. In conclusion despite the significant role of religion in shaping both personal and public life of Iranians, there is not any religiously and culturally adapted preventive/recovery program available especially for addiction. This goal could be reached only by doing scientific research on how religion concepts should be used in making a comprehensive plan for prevention/recovery from addiction. A good study needs good measures. Although some limited numbers of measures have been validated according to the cultural and religious difference and are now available in Farsi (9), much more researches needs to be done (10).