AJPH
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Purchase Article
Right arrow View Shopping Cart
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Price, R. K.
Right arrow Articles by Spitznagel, E. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Price, R. K.
Right arrow Articles by Spitznagel, E. L.
Related Collections
Right arrow Health Care Facilities/Services
Right arrow Mental Health
Right arrow Alcohol
Right arrow Drugs

American Journal of Public Health, Vol 91, Issue 7 1107-1113, Copyright © 2001 by American Public Health Association

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Remission from drug abuse over a 25-year period: patterns of remission and treatment use

RK Price, NK Risk and EL Spitznagel
Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 40 N Kingshighway, Suite 2, St Louis, MO 63108, USA. price@rkp.wustl.edu

OBJECTIVES: Using an epidemiologically obtained sample, we examined patterns of illicit drug use, abuse, and remission over a 25-year period and recent treatment use. METHODS: The surviving members of the cohort (n = 841), previously surveyed in 1972 and 1974, comprised 3 subsamples of Vietnam War enlisted men and civilian controls. Retrospectively obtained year-to-year measures from the 1996-1997 survey included use and remission of sedatives, stimulants, marijuana, cocaine, and opiates, as well as substance abuse and psychiatric treatment use. RESULTS: Relatively stable patterns of frequent use in adulthood were found, with the mean duration from initiation to the last remission ranging from 9 to 14 years. A majority attempted to quit; however, most did not use traditional drug treatment in their last attempts. Fewer than 9% of the then-current drug users were treated in inpatient or outpatient settings at the time of data collection. CONCLUSIONS: Most drug abusers who had started using drugs by their early 20s appeared to gradually achieve remission. Spontaneous remission was the rule rather than the exception. Nonetheless, considerable unmet needs existed for those who had continued use into middle age.


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Eval RevHome page
Y.-I. Hser, D. Longshore, and M. D. Anglin
The Life Course Perspective on Drug Use: A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Drug Use Trajectories
Eval Rev, December 1, 2007; 31(6): 515 - 547.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Br. J. PsychiatryHome page
N. H. RATHOD, W. M. ADDENBROOKE, and A. F. ROSENBACH
Heroin dependence in an English town: 33-year follow-up
The British Journal of Psychiatry, November 1, 2005; 187(5): 421 - 425.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2001 by the American Public Health Association