BACKGROUND Illicit substances increase risk of morbidity and mortality and have significant consequences for society. Personality traits are associated with drug use; we test whether these associations vary by socioeconomic status. METHOD Participants (N=412) from the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS) study completed the Revised NEO Personality Inventor...

background : drug abuse is one of the important challenges in the field of mental health and adolescence health promotion. because of the social and medical cost of drug abuse and its consequences among youth people, it is necessary to intervene effectively. this theoretical based study explained predictability of the theory of planned behaviour (tpb) on drug abuse related behaviours. methods :...

BACKGROUND Infections with blood-borne viruses are a major health problem among illicit drug users. There is little information about infection rates and risk factors for hepatitis virus B, C or the human immunodeficiency virus in drug users in Israel. OBJECTIVES To determine the prevalence of HCV, HBV and HIV infections in a large cohort of drug users in Israel; to compare rates of HCV, HBV ...

The majority of natural history studies of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection have immune and viral parameters in men. Data demonstrating that women have lower HIV-1 RNA levels than men at the same CD4 cell counts have raised the question of immunologic differences in HIV-seropositive women. This study describes levels and changes in phenotypic markers of immune maturity, function, an...

Injection drug use accounts for most of the incident infections with hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the United States and other developed countries. HCV infection is a complex and challenging medical condition in injection drug users (IDUs). Elements of care for hepatitis C in illicit drug users include prevention counseling and education; screening for transmission risk behavior; testing for HCV a...

Ayahuasca is a psychoactive beverage used for magico-religious purposes in the Amazon. Recently, Brazilian syncretic churches have helped spread the ritual use of ayahuasca abroad. This trend has raised concerns that regular use of this N,N-dimethyltryptamine-containing tea may lead to the medical and psychosocial problems typically associated with drugs of abuse. Here we assess potential drug ...