Summaries of Must-Read Clinical Literature, Guidelines, and FDA Actions

Outpatient Treatment for Substance Use Disorders

Are there race or ethnic disparities?

Publish date:: July 23, 2015

Racial and ethnic disparities did not exist in outpatient treatment for substance use disorders but predictors of initiation and engagement differed by the participant’s race and ethnicity, according to a study of 10,666 adults who began outpatient treatment in 2006. The study analyzed data from licensed Massachusetts outpatient treatment facilities. Details of the study included:

• 76% of the adult participants were white; 13% Latino, and 11% black.

• Multilevel regressions were used to examine racial/ethnic disparities and to explore whether predictors for initiation and engagement differed by participant’s race and ethnicity.

• Examining predictors of quality indicators separately by group assists in better understanding the needs of diverse client populations.

Citation: Acevedo A, Garnick D, Ritter G, et al. Race/ethnicity and quality indicators for outpatient treatment for substance use disorders. Am J Addict [Published online ahead of print July 14, 2015]. doi: 10.1111/ajad.12256.

This Week's Must Reads

MDD: Modest improvements in female sexual functioning with adjunctive brexpiprazole,

Transcranial direct current stimulation not clinically relevant in MDD,

Interleukin-1 β and TNF-α hamper antidepressant response in MDD,

Impact of pimavanserin on anxious depression in patients with MDD,

Prior MDD moderates the association between endothelin-1 and post-ACS depressive symptoms,

Must Reads in Addiction Medicine

E-cigarette use tied to increased COPD, asthma risk,

National lung cancer screening guidelines may miss younger African American individuals at high risk,

Alcohol problems linked to legal performance-enhancement products,

Report describes intoxication with new psychoactive substance,

Adolescent alcohol, opioid misuse linked to risky behaviors,