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BACKGROUND: Substance use is prevalent and is associated with academic performance among adolescents. Few studies have examined the association between abstinence from all substances and academic achievement. METHODS: Data from a nationally representative sample of 9578 12th graders from the 2015 Monitoring the Future survey were analyzed to examine relationships between abstinence from substance use and 4 academic variables: skipping school, grades, academic self-efficacy, and emotional academic engagement. Participants were categorized as lifetime non-users, former users, and past-year users based on the use of 14 substances. RESULTS: Approximately one-fourth of participants had never used cigarettes, alcohol, or other drugs during their lifetime, and 8% wt  used at least one substance during their lifetime but not during the past year. Adjusting for demographic variables, past-year substance users had 2.71 greater odds of skipping school during the past month than lifetime non-users and 1.74 greater odds of having low grades. Lifetime non-users reported greater academic self-efficacy and emotional academic engagement than past-year users. CONCLUSIONS: Many 12th graders have abstained from all substance use during their lifetime, and these adolescents experience better academic outcomes than their substance-using peers. Substance use prevention programs should be evaluated as a way to promote academic achievement.

BACKGROUND: Past research shows that among individuals with substance use disorders, the presence of a co-occurring mental illness can influence the initiation, course, and success of behavioral health treatment, but little research has examined people with opioid use disorder (OUD) specifically. METHODS: Using the 2008-2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, this study examines the utilization of substance use disorder and mental health treatment among individuals with OUD and different degrees of mental illness severity. The study also examined types of treatment, perceived unmet need for treatment, and barriers to care. RESULTS: 47% of individuals with OUD and co-occurring mild/moderate mental illness did not receive any behavioral health treatment, and 21% of those with co-occurring serious mental illnesses did not receive any behavioral health treatment. Among those with OUD and co-occurring mild/moderate mental illness, 16% reported receiving both substance use disorder and mental health treatment; among those with co-occurring serious mental illness the rate was 32%. The most common form of treatment was prescription medication for mental health, and this was true regardless of whether or not the individual had any mental illness. More than 50% of the study population reported financial difficulties as a barrier to treatment. CONCLUSION: A high proportion of individuals with OUD and co-occurring mental illness are not receiving needed care. However, nearly one in five of those with OUD but no diagnosed mental illness is receiving prescription medication for mental illness. These findings suggest that there is a need to better facilitate access to and coordinate behavioral health care across settings for individuals with OUD. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Complex interrelationships between race, sex, obesity and depression have been well-documented. Because of differences in associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and health by race, determining the role of SES may help to further explicate these relationships. The aim of this study was to determine how race and income interact with obesity on depression. Combining data from the 2007-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, depressive symptoms was measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and obesity was assessed as body mass index ≥30 kg/m 2 . Three-way interactions between race, income and obesity on depressive symptoms were determined using ordered regression models. Significant interactions between race, middle income and obesity (OR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.22-1.96) suggested that, among white women, obesity is positively associated with depressive symptoms across income levels, while obesity was not associated with depression for African American women at any income level. Obesity was only associated with depressive symptoms among middle-income white men (OR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.02-2.03) and among high-income African American men (OR = 4.65, 95% CI = 1.48-14.59). The associations between obesity and depressive symptoms vary greatly by race and income. Findings from this study underscore the importance of addressing obesity and depression among higher income African American men.

Objective:  The association between social norms and dietary behaviors is well-documented, but few studies examine the role of race. The aim of this study was to determine the interrelationships among race, social norms, and dietary behaviors.  Methods:  We used data from the Healthy Friends Network Study (a pilot study of women attending a southern university). Dietary behaviors, social norms, and self-identified race were obtained.  Results:  African Americans had lower odds of daily vegetable (OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.38-0.79) and fruit consumption (OR = 0.45, 95% CI = 0.30-0.67), but no race difference in frequent consumption of fatty/fried/salty/sugary foods was observed in fully adjusted models. Proximal descriptive norms were associated with all dietary behaviors, but distal injunctive social norms were associated with lower odds of frequent unhealthy food consumption (OR = 0.10, 95% CI = 0.05-0.21). Race differences in family descriptive norms were found to mediate race differences in vegetable and fruit consumption by 7%-9%. However, race differences in friend and family injunctive norms mediated 20%-50% of the effects of race on frequent unhealthy food consumption.  Conclusions:  Proximal injunctive norms account for race differences in unhealthy food consumption. Future studies should further explicate the mechanisms and seek to utilize social norms in behavior change interventions.

Data shows rate of births at home and in birth centers reaches highest level in 30 years; demand may actually be greater

Natalie Slopen and colleagues published a new study exploring the health implications of intimate partner violence on children

Racial Disparities in Health: Physician Bias and Veterans’ Pensions

Working lives and health in later life

Examining the Association Between Abortion and Mental Health: The (Mis)use of Science in Policy

Unstable and Unpredictable Work Schedules: Effects on Wellbeing and What to Do About It