Category: From Newswise – Substance Abuse

A new randomized controlled trial involving experimental and control groups in Canada has demonstrated the effectiveness of a brief cognitive-behavioral intervention program in reducing substance use disorders (SUDs) in adolescents.

Published yesterday in the American Journal of Psychiatry, the study shows that students who attended two 90-minute workshops in the first year of high school had significantly fewer problems with drugs and alcohol by the time they graduated.

The study was led by Patricia Conrod, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Addictology at Université de Montréal and researcher at CHU Sainte-Justine, the university’s affiliated children’s hospital.

3,800 students involved

Conrod and her research team followed 3,800 students in 31 schools in the Greater Montreal area between 2012 and 2017, from Grades 7 to 11. Some of the schools offered the PreVenture program to Grade 7 students deemed at risk based on their results on a questionnaire which assessed four personality traits: impulsivity, thrill-seeking, anxiety sensitivity and hopelessness.

Statistical analyses of the results showed an increase in SUDs in all schools between Grades 7 and 11, and found that 10 per cent of the students met the diagnostic criteria for these disorders by the end of high school. In those who followed the workshops, however, the increase was much less pronounced.

Depending on the year analyzed, the risk of developing SUDs was reduced by 23 to 80 per cent among the students who did the workshops, compared to those who did not.

“With just two 90-minute workshops, the program was able to protect young people against the risk of long-term substance use disorders,” said Conrod, who also holds the Canada Research Chair in Preventive Mental Health and Addiction. “This is particularly promising in the current context of North America’s addiction crisis.”

The PreVenture program is today offered in schools in five Canadian provinces as well as in 12 U.S. states. The interventions help young people explore individual differences in personality traits and the coping strategies they can use to help manage their personality. In the workshops, they also learn about cognitive and behavioural strategies that will help them to channel key personality traits towards long-term goals.

“Individual differences in personality are essential to a healthy and diversified society,” said Conrod. “However, when certain personality traits are mismanaged, some young people will turn to substances to temporarily reduce the stress they feel. By teaching them other, more effective strategies in early adolescence, we can help them better manage everyday challenges.”

“Prevention is one of the most effective and rewarding measures when it comes to drug use among young people,” said Julie Bruneau, an UdeM professor of family medicine who holds the Canada Research Chair in Addiction Medicine and is scientific director of the Quebec arm of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Matters.

“This study provides robust, clear Quebec data that can be translated into concrete action,” Bruneau said. “It’s invaluable, and gives us hope that this intervention will soon be available to all young people in Quebec.”

A recent study published in the Harm Reduction Journal documents the arrival of xylazine to the San Diego-Tijuana border region, and shows the efforts of local physicians to address this emerging challenge in the nation’s overdose crisis. Xylazine, a veterinary sedative — often referred as “tranq” — has increasingly appeared as an additive in illicit fentanyl, complicating overdose interventions due to its prolonged sedative effects. This has prompted the Biden Administration to label xylazine-fentanyl an emerging threat in the United States. The study, conducted as a collaboration between University of California San Diego researchers and physicians at the Prevencasa community harm reduction clinic in Tijuana, Mexico, discusses how to improve the clinical responses to xylazine-involved fentanyl overdoses, proposing strategies tailored to field settings.

Through case studies of three patients at the Prevencasa clinic, the research highlights unique challenges presented by xylazine-involved fentanyl overdoses, such as prolonged unconsciousness despite naloxone administration and heightened risks of post-overdose confusion and injury. Patients who experience xylazine-involved fentanyl overdose often require careful oxygenation management, including the use of portable oxygen tanks and airway positioning, rather than aggressive naloxone titration.

The clinic’s approach emphasizes harm reduction practices, including using xylazine testing strips to inform patients about drug contents and reduce risks. Strips can be given to participants to directly test their own drug supply before consumption. Additionally, community education and scene safety measures, such as relocating patients to secure environments, are critical components of the response to ensure patients do not place themselves in harmful scenarios. This approach not only enhances immediate overdose management but also empowers patients with knowledge and tools to make safer decisions.

An expert from UC San Diego was the senior author on the study and is available to speak on the subject in English and Spanish.

Joseph R. Friedman, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., is a resident physician at the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine. His research combines epidemiological and anthropological approaches to studying substance use, drug overdose, mental illness, and other socially-bound causes of mortality and morbidity. He has a particular interest in the U.S.-Mexico border region, and has spent several years living and working in Tijuana, Mexico. Dr. Friedman has also previously led other landmark studies of xylazine’s spread across the United States.

Topics for Discussion:

• Significance of xylazine’s arrival to San Diego and Tijuana.
• Harm reduction strategies such as oxygenation management, naloxone titration and patient safety in field settings.
• How xylazine testing strips and education empower patients in high-risk areas.
• The need for regulatory support and resources to adapt harm reduction models to polysubstance crises.
• Gaps in the clinical management of xylazine and opportunities for broader application of the study’s findings.

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BYLINE: Leah Shaffer

When studying substance use disorders, scientists had thought some of the effects on the brain could stem from use of the substances themselves: People start drinking alcohol in early teens, that alcohol has a neurotoxic effect on the developing brain that begets more alcohol drinking, and a similar dynamic occurs with other substances.

But research from Washington University in St. Louis turns that thinking around. Certain features of brain structure may be one of the factors that can contribute to substance use initiation.

WashU researchers in the department of Art & Sciences and School of Medicine studied the brain scans of nearly 10,000 children in the large-scale Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. The idea was to compare results of scans between participants who did and did not go on to start trying substances in early teens. What they found were correlations between certain types of brain structure and those that do try substances before age 15.

“What we looked at was whether these neural differences precede any substance involvement essentially. And we do find that,” said Ryan Bogdan, ​dean’s distinguished professor of psychological & brain sciences and co-author of this research, now published in JAMA Network Open.

In the research, Bogdan, along with first author Alex Miller, assistant professor of psychiatry now at Indiana University School of Medicine, and Arpana Agrawal, the James and Juanita Wittmer Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at WashU Medicine, highlighted a number of structural differences in the cortex, including the prefrontal cortex, that may contribute to trying substances in adolescence.

Researchers emphasized this is just one piece of a puzzle in the progression of substance use, including their early home environment, and the genetic building blocks that factor into brain structure from the get-go.

Agrawal added that the brain structure features that correlate with early initiation of substance use would not mean they can use those structures as a diagnostic tool. Instead, it gives researchers a start to pin down the many factors that may lead to substance use problems down the line.

“I think this is a clue that we need to think about the relationship between substance use and brain development somewhat differently,” she said.

Out of the almost 10,000 participants in the study, approximately 3500 reported trying substances by age 15 (which mostly means small encounters with more common substances like a sip of alcohol) compared to the remainder that did not.

They compared the two groups’ brain scans from before trying substances in early adolescence and found several differences in brain structure between the two groups. The researchers used statistical tools to control for variables like family membership, prenatal exposure to substances, and the associations still held.

That small differences in these brain structure features precede use of substances in youth could point to a propensity towards early experimentation with substances, said Miller, who is also looking at how impulsivity overlaps with these structures.

“The patterns of associations that we’re seeing are of interest,” compared to what has been seen before, he added. Next steps will include filling in the puzzle pieces in the right order to sort the origin of substance use disorders.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. To learn how to get support for mental health, drug or alcohol conditions, visit FindSupport.gov. If you are ready to locate a treatment facility or provider, you can go directly to FindTreatment.gov or call 800-662-HELP (4357). 

Miller AP, Baranger DAA, Paul SE, Garavan H, Mackey S, Tapert SF, LeBlanc KH,  Agrawal A, Bogdan R. Neuroanatomical variability and substance use initiation in late childhood and early adolescence. JAMA Network Open. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.52027

This study was supported by R01DA54750 (RB, AA). Additional funding included: APM (T32DA015035, K01AA031724), DAAB (K99AA030808), SEP (F31AA029934), AA (R01DA54750), RB (R01DA54750, R21AA027827, U01DA055367). Data for this study were provided by the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study which was funded by awards U01DA041022, U01DA041025, U01DA041028, U01DA041048, U01DA041089, U01DA041093, U01DA041106, U01DA041117, U01DA041120, U01DA041134, U01DA041148, U01DA041156, U01DA041174, U24DA041123, and U24DA041147 from the NIH and additional federal partners (https://abcdstudy.org/federal-partners.html). (The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

BYLINE: Tongyue Zhang

Members of the Rutgers Brain Health Institute (BHI), which brings together one of the world’s highest concentrations of neuroscience labs, celebrated 10 years of advancing brain health through research with an awards ceremony.

The institute includes more than 300 faculty and 900 trainees from 33 departments and 14 schools throughout Rutgers University. 

Over the past 10 years, BHI has established five Centers of Excellence and initiated two new centers focused on pain and neurotechnology.

Researchers at these centers study complex brain disorders:

Since its inception, BHI has expanded neuroscience funding at Rutgers. Institute leaders have recruited more than 40 faculty throughout Rutgers.

Funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for Rutgers neuroscientists has more than doubled since 2015, with BHI-recruited faculty securing more than $80 million in extramural funding through 2024. Notably, Rutgers and Princeton faculty recently received a $16 million Silvio O. Conte Center P50 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health in August.

“In its first decade, the Brain Health Institute has not only strengthened Rutgers Health but also brought real benefits to the people of New Jersey and beyond,” said Rutgers Health Chancellor Brian Strom during the  10th Annual BHI Symposium in mid-November.

Celebrating Faculty Excellence

BHI marked its 10th anniversary with the 2024 Research & Service Awards ceremony held on Dec. 10 at the Zimmerli Art Museum in New Brunswick. The ceremony celebrated BHI faculty for their outstanding research and service contributions. Award recipients included:

• Early Career Faculty “Rising Star” Research Excellence Award: Anna Konova, assistant professor of psychiatry at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS) and co-director of the Rutgers-Princeton Center for Computational Cognitive Neuro-Psychiatry.
• Mid-Career Faculty “Shining Star” Research Excellence Award: Victoria Abraira, assistant professor of cell biology and neuroscience in the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers–New Brunswick.
• Senior Faculty “Super Star” Research Excellence Awards: Dipak Sarkar and Laszlo Zaborszky, Distinguished Professors from the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers–New Brunswick and the School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers–Newark, respectively.
• BHI “Outstanding Service” Award: Chiara Manzini, associate professor of neuroscience and cell biology in RWJMS.

“These awards and our 10th anniversary highlight the transformative impact of BHI’s faculty and programs,” said Gary Aston-Jones, director of BHI and the Murray and Charlotte Strongwater Endowed Chair in Neuroscience and Brain Health. “Our faculty’s research continues to address critical challenges in brain health, and our interdisciplinary approach fosters collaboration across Rutgers and beyond.”

Rochester, Minn. — People around the globe are living longer — but not necessarily healthier — lives, according to Mayo Clinic research. A study of 183 World Health Organization (WHO) member countries found those additional years of life are increasingly fraught with disease. This research by Andre Terzic, M.D., Ph.D., and Armin Garmany documents a widening gap between lifespan and healthspan. Their paper is published in JAMA Network Open.

“The data show that gains in longevity are not matched with equivalent advances in healthy longevity. Growing older often means more years of life burdened with disease,” says Dr. Terzic, senior author. “This research has important practice and policy implications by bringing attention to a growing threat to the quality of longevity and the need to close the healthspan-lifespan gap.”

Dr. Terzic is the Marriott Family Director, Comprehensive Cardiac Regenerative Medicine for the Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics and Marriott Family Professor of Cardiovascular Research at Mayo Clinic.

Lifespan-healthspan gap largest in the U.S.

Life expectancy, or lifespan, increased from 79.2 to 80.7 years in women and from 74.1 to 76.3 years in men between 2000 and 2019, according to WHO estimates. Healthspan describes the number of years a person has lived a healthy, active, disease-free life. However, the number of years those people were living in good health did not correspondingly increase. The average global gap in lifespan versus healthspan was 9.6 years in 2019, the last year of available statistics. That represents a 13% increase since 2000.

The U.S. recorded the world’s highest average lifespan-health span divide, with Americans living 12.4 years on average with disability and sickness. This increase from 10.9 years in 2000 comes as the U.S. also reported the highest burden of chronic disease. Mental health, substance use disorders and musculoskeletal conditions were the key contributors to illness nationally.

In addition, the study found a 25% gender disparity worldwide. Across 183 surveyed countries, women experienced a 2.4-year larger gap in lifespan versus healthspan than men. Neurological, musculoskeletal, urinary and genital tract disorders contributed to extended years of poor health among women.

“The widening healthspan-lifespan gap globally points to the need for an accelerated pivot to proactive wellness-centric care systems,” says Armin Garmany, first author and an M.D./Ph.D. student in Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine and Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. “Identifying contributors to the gap unique to each geography can help inform healthcare interventions specific to each country and region.”

Healthspan research

The Mayo Clinic research team studied statistics from the WHO Global Health Observatory. This cross-sectional study provided data on life expectancy, health-adjusted life expectancy, years lived with disease and years of life lost among member states. The healthspan-lifespan gap for each member state was calculated by subtracting health-adjusted life expectancy from life expectancy.

The research team recommends additional exploration of demographic, health and economic characteristics to better define the disease patterns that are shaping the lifespan-healthspan disparities. Funding for the paper was provided by the Marriott Family Foundation, National Institutes of Health and National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news. 

In a new collaboration, Case Western Reserve University’s Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education has partnered with the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office (CCMEO) to launch a pilot program designed to help curb fatal overdose trends.

This new initiative involves lab testing syringes collected from syringe service programs—also known as “needle exchanges”—at The Centers and MetroHealth System. Researchers hope to gain insights into the drug use behaviors of people participating in harm reduction services.

That’s the key to developing more effective public health interventions, said Daniel Flannery, the Dr. Semi J. and Ruth Begun Professor and director of the Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education, who is part of a team of researchers representing CWRU.

While the CCMEO conducts thorough testing on fatal overdose cases and law enforcement drug seizures, understanding the substances used by individuals in syringe service programs can offer a clearer picture of current drug trends and potential risks, Flannery added.

“The testing of syringes is an important harm reduction tool that helps us better understand the gap between what people think they’re using and what they’re actually using,” he said. “This program will help track changes in the local drug supply and improve how we educate, prevent and treat substance use.”

Since its launch this fall, more than 120 syringes have been tested, and participants have received valuable feedback about the substances in their illicit drugs. This information is critical in reducing harm and preventing overdose deaths, particularly as the local drug supply continues to shift. The initiative is part of a CDC-funded effort to limit overdose fatalities and improve local health outcomes. The ambitious study also includes collaboration with the Cuyahoga County Board of Health (CCBH) and is funded by the CDC’s Overdose Data to Action program.

 “The partnership with the Begun Center provides an essential evaluation of this program’s effectiveness,” said Thomas Gilson, Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner. “By comparing the drug use patterns of those utilizing harm reduction services to overdose victims, we can enhance our public health response to the opioid epidemic.”

For more information, please contact Colin McEwen at [email protected].

EL PASO, Texas (Dec. 3, 2024) – Consuming addictive substances often involves an unpleasant experience, like using a needle, ingesting a bitter substance or inhaling smoke. These distasteful experiences — known as aversive cues — and our initial reactions to them are pivotal to understanding who will become an addict, said University of Texas at El Paso biologist Travis Moschak, Ph.D.

“Aversive cues matter from the very first exposure,” Moschak said. But until now, he said, there hasn’t been a good animal model to study this concept. 

Moschak is the lead author of a new study published this month in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependencethat describes a novel approach for rats to self-administer cocaine and encounter aversion from that very first “high.” 

The study found widely varying responses in rats, revealing that individual reactions to the unpleasant aspects of drug consumption can be important in determining susceptibility to addiction.

Moschak explained that nearly 30 rats were given the opportunity to self-administer small doses of cocaine by poking their nose into a designated hole. Each dose of cocaine was preceded by a small, bitter-tasting dose of quinine, a substance that is safe for rats and commonly used to impart the bitter flavor in tonic water. The study measured the rats’ response to the mixed positive-negative experience of the cocaine and quinine and gauged whether their dislike of the quinine outweighed the impact of the cocaine.  

After having the opportunity to self-administer the cocaine, Moschak said that three distinct patterns became evident among the rats. One group responded strongly to the quinine and stopped self-administering the cocaine entirely, which can be compared to the experience of a person who tries a drug, has a negative experience, and never does it again. A second group started off consuming the cocaine in low doses but gradually increased their consumption, indicating that the quinine did not deter them enough to stop. A third, unexpected group began the study with heavy cocaine consumption but then gradually leveled off.

“The third group surprised us,” Moschak said. “They seemed to have over-indulged and the combination of too much cocaine and too much aversive stimulus took over.”

While previous studies have explored the relationship between aversive cues and drug use, Moschak’s research is the first to study them as a paired experience from the very first instance of drug use, he said.

“These findings could help explain why some individuals develop substance use disorders while others do not, and future studies may uncover genetic or neural differences that could guide targeted treatments,” Moschak said.

The rats were taken off of the cocaine at the conclusion of the study and were unharmed by the experience, the team said. Future research will examine the brain regions in the rats that are active during drug use with an aversive cue and seek to understand the genetic or biological differences behind the rats’ differing experiences. 

“This is a fascinating study with great potential to help us better understand and address drug abuse in people,” said Robert Kirken, Ph.D., dean of the College of Science. “With further study, this research could lead to better ways to prevent and treat addiction.”

The cocaine used in the study was procured through the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s Drug Supply Program, which supplies restricted substances for the purpose of research.

About The University of Texas at El Paso

The University of Texas at El Paso is America’s leading Hispanic-serving university. Located at the westernmost tip of Texas, where three states and two countries converge along the Rio Grande, 84% of our 25,000 students are Hispanic, and more than half are the first in their families to go to college. UTEP offers 170 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs at the only open-access, top-tier research university in America.

Newswise — A new report from the Bloomberg American Health Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health finds that life expectancy in the United States is, on average, 78.6 years versus 81.3 years in England and Wales, an overall 2.7-year difference.  

The analysis, which reviewed causes of death based on newly released 2023 data, found that preventable causes—heart disease, overdose, firearm violence, and motor vehicle crashes—explain the almost three-year gap in life expectancy.

The report, A Tale of Two Countries: The Life Expectancy Gap Between the United States and the United Kingdom, offers evidence-based solutions from Johns Hopkins public health experts to close this gap and to increase lifespans in the U.S. 

The report is set to be announced by Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies and WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries, at the seventh annual Bloomberg American Health Summit in Washington, D.C. The Summit convened public health leaders, government officials, community organizations, researchers, and students to discuss the urgent need to uphold evidence-based health policies to improve life expectancy in a politically divided country.

“There is simply no good reason why people in the U.S. can expect to die nearly three years earlier than their counterparts across the Atlantic,” says Joshua M. Sharfstein, MD, director of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative and vice dean for Public Health Practice and Community Engagement at the Bloomberg School. “If we choose programmatic and policy solutions based on evidence, we will close this gap.”

In 1984, life expectancy in the U.S. and the U.K. was the same. But the gap has widened over time, peaking in 2022 during the pandemic with a difference of 4.7 years, as the two countries have taken different directions on health and social policy on issues that include dietary sodium, firearm policy, addiction treatment, injury prevention, COVID-19, and health care. The U.S. health care system is particularly unable to deliver needed preventive services equitably and at scale.

The report found the life expectancy gap is due to the following:

• Cardiovascular disease: Cardiovascular disease, which is linked to environmental factors, structural conditions, and lifestyle choices, represents the largest contributor to the life expectancy gap. The U.S. death rate due to cardiovascular health issues is 38% greater than that of England and Wales.

• Overdose deaths: Overdose is the second leading contributor to the gap. The U.S. overdose death rate is more than three times greater than England and Wales—31.6 per 100,000 versus 9.3 per 100,000. 

• Gun-related deaths: The death rate for firearm-related homicides and suicides is 13.3 deaths per 100,000 in the U.S. compared to 0.1 per 100,000 in England and Wales. Ninety individuals died from firearm-related causes in England and Wales in 2023 compared to more than 45,000 in the United States. 

• Motor vehicle crashes: The death rate from motor vehicle crashes in the U.S. is six times greater than the rate in England and Wales—13.3 per 100,000 versus 2.2 per 100,000 in England and Wales. 

COVID-19 and cancer offset some of the life expectancy gap between the two countries. The death rate for COVID-19 in the U.S. was 12 per 100,000 compared to 13.8 per 100,000 in England and Wales. For cancer-related deaths, the U.S. had a lower rate of 147.2 per 100,000 compared to 186.1 in England and Wales.

The new report is a follow-up to a 2022 report from the Bloomberg American Health Initiative, which detailed actions the U.S. can take to address declining life expectancy.

The new report draws from preliminary 2023 mortality data from the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and final 2023 data from the United Kingdom Office for National Statistics. Available U.K. data includes England and Wales, which represent about 90% of the population, but not Scotland or Northern Ireland. While the U.S. has about five times more people than the U.K. and greater per capita income, the age distributions and several other demographic factors are similar.

Younger Americans, Men Die Before U.K. Counterparts

For younger Americans, the researchers found even larger gaps in life expectancy between the U.S. and the U.K. Firearm-related homicide and suicide rates are 485.9 times higher for people under age 25 in the U.S. compared to England and Wales. Drug overdose rates are 4.5 times higher in the U.S. for people under age 25. 

Men overall had the largest age gap in life expectancy, a difference of 3.4 years, and lower life expectancy overall. Men living in the U.S. have a life expectancy of 75.9 years, while those in England and Wales have a life expectancy of 79.3 years. Women have a difference of 1.9 years, with the U.S. having a life expectancy of 81.3 years compared with 83.2 years in England and Wales. 

In the new report, researchers also highlight health policies, some in place in the U.K., that can address the key areas they found to be responsible for the life expectancy gap between the two countries. These include:

• Reducing cardiovascular disease by prioritizing clinical and population-based solutions including increasing access to treatment for hypertension, increasing access to more nutritious food, reducing sodium through food policy, and providing more opportunities for physical activity.

• Reducing overdose-related deaths by expanding access to treatment for opioid use disorder, such as methadone, in the U.S. through community pharmacies and correctional facilities.

• Reducing gun homicides and gun-related suicides by limiting access to gun ownership through Firearm Purchaser Licensing and Extreme Risk Protection Orders, both popular policies that have been shown to reduce violence or self-harm.

• Reducing teen suicides by building a national community mental health infrastructure that allows for ongoing investment in mental health care services, especially in rural and historically underserved areas.

• Reducing motor vehicle crashes by incorporating intelligent speed technology that alerts drivers when they are over the speed limit, enforcing penalties for impaired driving, and including a hazard perception test as part of driver licensing requirements.

“This analysis tells a story of how preventable disease is responsible for the U.S. falling behind in life expectancy,” says Alison Gemmill, PhD, MPH, assistant professor in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health at the Bloomberg School and lead researcher on the analysis of the study. “What we do with this information will determine whether this gap grows or shrinks over time.”

Contributors to A Tale of Two Countries: The Life Expectancy Gap Between the United States and the United Kingdominclude Joshua Sharfstein, Alison Gemmill, Lawrence Appel, Sonia Angell, Brendan Saloner, Josh Horwitz, Silvia Villareal, Kiara Alvarez, and Johnathan Ehsani.

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The seventh Bloomberg American Health Summit organized by the Bloomberg American Health Initiative will bring together public health leaders, government officials, community organizations, researchers, and students to discuss evidence-based health policies that remain critical to advancing health in a politically divided country. The Summit will take place on December 3 in Washington, D.C.

Following the recent U.S. election, this year’s event, “Advancing Public Health in Uncertain Political Times,” will underscore the essential role of evidence and policy to address preventable illness that is holding back American life expectancy and progress. The Summit will also emphasize how fostering bipartisan collaboration, reforming policies that drive health disparities, and using innovative methods to enhance policy impact are essential to safeguard public health.

Keynote discussions will cover urgent topics including:

• Building bipartisan support for public health initiatives in 2025 and beyond
• Protecting reproductive health
• Defending the role of science in uncertain political times

Featured speakers include:

• Jerome Adams, Former U.S. Surgeon General & Director of Health Equity, Purdue University
• Xavier Becerra, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Michael R. Bloomberg, Founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies, WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries, and 108th mayor of New York City
• Cory Booker, U.S. Senator (D-NJ)
• Muriel Bowser, Mayor, Washington, D.C.
• Jonathan Capehart, Associate Editor, The Washington Post 
• Francis S. Collins, Distinguished Investigator, National Institutes of Health
• Ron Daniels, President, Johns Hopkins University
• Madlen Davies, Senior Editor, The Examination
• Rosa DeLauro, Congresswoman, U.S. House of Representatives, Connecticut
• Thomas Dobbs, Former Mississippi State Health Officer
• Jamie Ducharme, Health Correspondent, TIME Magazine
• John Feinblatt, President, Everytown for Gun Safety
• Brian Fitzpatrick, U.S. Representative, Pennsylvania 
• Cynthia Bissett Germanotta, President and Co-Founder, Born This Way Foundation
• Riley Griffin, Health Care Reporter, Bloomberg News
• Ellen J. MacKenzie, Dean, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Marion Nestle, Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, Emerita, New York University
• Joshua M. Sharfstein, Director, Bloomberg American Health Initiative
• Michelle Spencer, Deputy Director, Bloomberg American Health Initiative
• Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Washington Correspondent, The New York Times
• Yasmin Tayag, Staff Writer, The Atlantic

Additional speakers will be announced and posted on the Summit’s website.

Members of the media are invited to attend the plenary from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in person or view the event’s livestream. Apply for credentials here. For more information, please contact [email protected].

“Science and data should drive U.S. public health research and policy​—not partisan politics or baseless conspiracy theories,” says Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies, WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries, and 108th mayor of New York City. “This year’s Bloomberg American Health Summit brings leading experts to Washington to share evidence-based approaches that can improve the health of the American people.”

Through a series of on-stage conversations, keynote speakers, and videos, the event will highlight successful public health efforts and explore implications for national and state policy across the Initiative’s five focus areas: addiction and overdose; adolescent health; environmental challenges; food systems for health; and violence.

The Bloomberg American Health Initiative was created in 2016 to address the nation’s most pressing health challenges and works to improve health and life expectancy in the United States in ways that advance equity, use evidence, and change policy. The Initiative was established with a $300 million gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the world’s leading school of public health.

The Summit will also feature the work of Bloomberg Fellows, a program of the Initiative that provides world-class public health training to individuals in organizations tackling critical challenges facing the United States. Each year, the Initiative supports 60 Fellows with full scholarships to earn an MPH or DrPH degree from the Bloomberg School. Each Fellow represents an organization working on one of the Initiative’s five focus areas. The growing network of 388 Fellows and 318 collaborating organizations from 43 states, Washington, D.C., and two territories, is using the tools of public health to positively impact their own communities.

“I am thrilled that this year’s summit is bringing leading thinkers and changemakers together in our nation’s capital to discuss the future of public health policy, especially in a new administration,” says Ellen J. MacKenzie, dean of the Bloomberg School. “This is an extraordinary opportunity to spark new ideas and forge new partnerships as we work to pursue practical, achievable solutions to some of our greatest health challenges in such a historic time.”

The main plenary session on December 3 will be available to the public via livestream.

To learn more about the Bloomberg American Health Summit, please visit the Summit website.

About the Bloomberg American Health InitiativeThe Bloomberg American Health Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health was developed to tackle five core issues that deeply challenge the nation’s health: addiction and overdose; adolescent health; environmental challenges; food systems for health; and violence. The Initiative’s work with faculty, Bloomberg Fellows, and collaborating organizations is building a dynamic nationwide network committed to harnessing data and developing new approaches to public health that will ensure a healthier future for all Americans. Learn more here: Bloomberg American Health Initiative.

About Bloomberg Philanthropies

Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 700 cities and 150 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on creating lasting change in five key areas: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consultancy that advises cities around the world. In 2023, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $3 billion. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Threads, Facebook, and X.

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Australian researchers say access to a free medicated nasal spray which temporarily reverses the effects of opioid toxicity while waiting for an ambulance to arrive, will save lives and reduce opioid-related hospital admissions.

The Federal Government is funding a national Take Home Naloxone (THN) program which makes the life-saving medication available for free and without prescription in pharmacies across Australia.

Naloxone reverses the effects of opioid toxicity and, under the THN program, is available from pharmacies for anyone at risk of either experiencing or witnessing an opioid overdose or adverse reaction.

Initially introduced on a trial basis, the THN program has expanded to now include more than 384 participating pharmacies across South Australia.

Dr Victoria Cock, Statewide Clinical Director, Drug and Alcohol Services SA, says demand for free naloxone is growing as more people become aware of its availability, with 8377 units being supplied across South Australia (SA) alone in 2022-23 and 16,171 in 2023-24.

A recent paper co-authored by SA Health experts and University of South Australia pharmacist Dr Jacinta Johnson found there were 2046 hospital admissions in SA involving opioid toxicity between 2017 and 2020, costing the State approximately $18 million.

Almost 20% of the patients admitted stayed in hospital for more than five days, 22% required intensive care and around 10% required mechanical ventilation.

Of the 2046 opioid toxicity-related admissions in SA hospitals, 6% involved children who were accidentally poisoned, prompting health officials to remind South Australians about the importance of safe medication storage and disposal of opioids to protect children.

Families also may wish to consider having naloxone on hand in case of an accidental poisoning at home.

Members of the public can locate their nearest registered pharmacy using the user-friendly map available on www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/naloxone. They do not need to provide any identifying details when requesting naloxone at a pharmacy. The webpage also includes a range of resources consumers may find useful.

Dr Maria Sarantou from Flinders Medical Centre says a 2019 trial of the Take Home Naloxone (THN) program, providing free access to the opioid blocker, found that it saved an estimated three lives a day.

“Research evaluating the pilot program showed that expanding THN supply to include the majority of patients prescribed medium to high doses of opioids would save hundreds of lives over the next five years,” Dr Sarantou says.

Dr Johnson, the UniSA senior lecturer who is responsible for driving all pharmacy research across SA Health, says a history of opioid toxicity is a major risk factor for future overdoses, yet many patients were not referred to drug and alcohol services or specialist pain services for help after discharge.

“There are things within the system we can improve,” Dr Johnson says.

In addition to the now implemented THN program, which is expanding to include an increasing number of public hospitals, the authors have made the following recommendations:

• Improved discharge referrals to external healthcare services; and
• Parental/carer education around safe storage and disposal of opioids to protect children.

Organisations involved in the study included local health networks in Adelaide, South Australian Statewide Chronic Pain Clinical Network, University of South Australia, University of Adelaide, and SA Pharmacy Statewide Clinical Support Services.

“A 3-year retrospective review of hospital admissions involving opioid toxicity in South Australia” is published in Drug and Alcohol Review. DOI: 10.1111/dar.13913

Background

Naloxone is a drug that can temporarily reverse the effects of opioid toxicity, which may be referred to as an opioid overdose or adverse reaction. If someone is experiencing severe opioid toxicity, they may be unconscious or awake, but unable to talk. It’s unlikely they will be able to administer naloxone themselves.  

Naloxone can be administered by injection into a muscle or delivery through a nasal spray. It works by blocking opioid drugs, such as heroin and oxycodone, from attaching to opioid receptors in the brain. 

It is vital to call an ambulance (000) as naloxone’s effect only lasts about 30-90 minutes and the person can experience toxicity again once it wears off. 

Opioids include pharmaceutical opioids, that is, medicines used for pain, and non-pharmaceutical opioids, such as heroin. The average Australian drug-related death last year involved a middle-aged person who was taking prescribed pharmaceutical opioids in combination with other prescribed pharmaceutical drugs.