Ethnographic and secrecy patterns among drug abusers

The underground nature of drug abuse is a major cross-national barrier to the collection of sound epidemiological data. The authors examine some common patterns of secrecy developed by drug abusers to avoid social disapproval or punishment in different socio-cultural settings. Assurances of anonymity and confidentiality may not be sufficient to make the majority of heavy drug abusers "visible" to the researcher. One way to overcome this barrier is to train field staff to recognize certain ethnographic signs i.e. the specific appearance and behaviour of drug abusers that can facilitate identification of target populations.     

The Mexican migration to the United States and substance use in northern Mexico

Aims   To examine the impact of migration to the United States on substance use and substance use disorders in three urban areas of northern Mexico.
Design   Cross-sectional survey of immigration-related experiences and life-time and past-year alcohol and drug use, in a representative sample of respondents aged 12–65 years.
Setting   Interviews were conducted in the cities of Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez and Monterrey during 2005. Respondents were classified into three groups: (i) 'return migrants', (ii) 'relatives of migrants' and (iii) 'others in the general population'.
Findings   A total of 1630 completed interviews were obtained for a response rate of 70.5%. 'Return migrants' were more likely to have used alcohol, marijuana or cocaine at least once in their life-time and in the last 12 months, more likely to develop a substance use disorder and more likely to have a 12-month substance use disorder compared with 'others in the general population'. Among 'return migrants', longer length of time in the United States and type of work performed as an immigrant were related to higher prevalence of substance use. Among 'relatives of migrants', migration experiences were not associated with increased prevalence of substance use compared with 'others in the general population'.
Conclusion   This study found a link between migration to the United States and the transformation of substance use norms and pathology in Mexico. Future research on pre-migration involvement in substance use and data on the timing of events among return migrants is needed. Public health measures are likely to require cross-border coordination of research and service development.     

High-risk eating behavior in Mexican adolescents. Data on the student population in the Federal District

Data of the Drug and Alcohol Prevalence in Student Population of Mexico City Survey 1997 were used to achieve knowledge about the presence of risk eating behaviors, characteristic of eating disorders in the student population of Mexico city (N = 10,173). The sample was conformed by boys (47.9%) and girls (52.1%), with a mean age of 14.5 years (SD = 1.8). The identification of the differences between boys and girls, and age groups in two occurrence categories of risk eating behavior (ever and two or more times per week) were among the main objectives. An eleven items scale with three answering options about eating behavior during the last three months was used. The BMI-P distributed normally, with greater percentage of overweight, than underweight in both sexes. A greater percentage of risk eating behaviors were found among girls, excluding hard exercising and binge eating, as well as similar percentages of laxative and enema use in both sexes. The analysis held by age groups for risk eating behaviors showed significant differences in binge eating, self induced vomiting, pills and enemas use among boys, while girls showed differences in almost all of these practices, being the group of 18 and 19 years where the greater percentages were found.     

Current management of drug addiction

Alcohol abuse is an endemic problem in the country, by itself is responsible of 9% of the global burden of disease due to premature death and disability associated with cirrhosis, accidents, homicides and dependence. Use of other drugs is increasing with an important participation of cocaine and with out breaks of heroin use in the northern border. With the increase of drugs with higher potential of development of addiction, new are required to treat dependence and sequels derived from chronic use. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the available alternatives to be instrumented within the health system.     

The measurement of drinking patterns and consequences in Mexico

The paper addresses the experiences of measuring and monitoring patterns of alcohol consumption and consequences in Mexico, provides an overview of alcohol use and problems, describes local cultural values that influence patterns of drinking, and discusses measurement implications.     

Cross-national differences in clinically significant cannabis problems: epidemiologic evidence from 'cannabis-only' smokers in the United States,Mexico, and Colombia

Background  

Epidemiological studies show wide variability in the occurrence of cannabis smoking and related disorders across countries. This study aims to estimate cross-national variation in cannabis users' experience of clinically significant cannabis-related problems in three countries of the Americas, with a focus on cannabis users who may have tried alcohol or tobacco, but who have not used cocaine, heroin, LSD, or other internationally regulated drugs.     

Mental disorders among persons with heart disease - results from World Mental Health surveys

OBJECTIVES: While depression and heart disease often co-occur in Western countries, less is known about the association of anxiety and alcohol use disorders with heart disease and about the cross-cultural consistency of this association. Consistency across emotional disorders and cultures would suggest that relatively universal mechanisms underlie the association. METHODS: Surveys with 18 random population samples of household-residing adults in 17 countries in Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the South Pacific were carried out. Medically recognized heart disease was ascertained by self-report. Mental disorders were assessed with the World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview, a fully structured diagnostic interview. RESULTS: Specific mood and anxiety disorders occurred among persons with heart disease at rates higher than those among persons without heart disease. Adjusted for sex and age, the pooled odds ratios (95% confidence interval) were 2.1 (1.9-2.5) for mood disorders, 2.2 (1.9-2.5) for anxiety disorders and 1.4 (1.0-1.9) for alcohol abuse/dependence among persons with versus those without heart disease. These patterns were similar across countries. CONCLUSIONS: An excess of anxiety disorders and that of mood disorders are found among persons with heart disease. These associations hold true across countries despite substantial between-country differences in culture and mental disorder prevalence rates. These results suggest that similar mechanisms underlie the association and that a broad spectrum of mood-anxiety disorders should be considered in research on the comorbidity of mental disorders and heart disease.     

Volatile substance misuse in Mexico: correlates and trends

This paper analyzes volatile substance misuse in Mexico since the 1980s. Data were collected from national household and school surveys, epidemiological surveillance systems, and studies among special populations. Volatile substance misuse begins at 12-14 years. Prevalence is approximately 1% in the general population, 7% among high school students, and higher for street children. Toluene is the main solvent used, but preferences vary within population groups. Volatile substance misuse has increased among youngsters that live in families and attend school. Marijuana and volatile substances are now the drugs of choice among Mexican female high school students. The study's limitations are noted.