Greenwell Lisa, Brecht Mary-Lynn
UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, Los Angeles, California 90025-7510, USA.
Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2003;29(1):75-104. doi: 10.1081/ada-120018840.
Very little research has examined how drug abuse is related to general health status over the long term among both young and middle-aged adults. In this article, we investigate how self-reported health status is related to prolonged methamphetamine (MA) use in a diverse sample of MA users from ages 18 to 52 who have been treated for drug abuse in Los Angeles County. Using retrospective data, we investigate how prolonged MA use within younger and older age groups is related to two self-reported measures of current health status: the presence of a health condition that began after starting illegal drug use, and overall health. We control for the effects of drug use history, social and demographic factors, and other early experiences (e.g., early sexual abuse) that might be obstacles to achieving good health later in life. We find that having a current health condition is predicted by greater age and by more prolonged MA use, especially among younger people. Early sexual abuse predicts both measures of poor health. Current health status is predicted by several measures of drug use history and early experiences, but by fewer social and demographic factors. The results suggest that reduction of MA use among younger people is important in promoting their later health and that MA treatment services could be improved by a greater understanding of how early experiences influence later health.
很少有研究探讨药物滥用与年轻人和中年成年人长期总体健康状况之间的关系。在本文中，我们调查了在洛杉矶县接受过药物滥用治疗的18至52岁的不同甲基苯丙胺（MA）使用者样本中，自我报告的健康状况与长期使用MA之间的关系。利用回顾性数据，我们研究了较年轻和较年长年龄组内长期使用MA与当前健康状况的两种自我报告指标之间的关系：开始使用非法药物后出现的健康状况，以及总体健康状况。我们控制了药物使用史、社会和人口因素以及其他可能会在以后生活中阻碍实现良好健康的早期经历（如早期性虐待）的影响。我们发现，年龄较大以及长期使用MA，尤其是在年轻人中，会增加当前出现健康状况的可能性。早期性虐待会导致两种健康状况不佳指标的出现。当前健康状况可通过药物使用史和早期经历的几种指标来预测，但受社会和人口因素的影响较小。结果表明，减少年轻人中MA的使用对于促进他们后期的健康很重要，并且通过更深入地了解早期经历如何影响后期健康，可以改善MA治疗服务。
