Behavioral Risk Factors and Adherence to Preventive Measures: Evidence From the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Behavioral risk factors, such as smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, obesity, and unhealthy food intake are added risk factors for severe outcomes of COVID-19 infections. Preventive measures to avoid infections are therefore particularly important for individuals engaging in behavioral risk factors. We seek to determine whether behavioral risk factors (BRFs) play a significant role in the adherence to preventive COVID-19 measures in a population aged 50 and above. The SHARE wave 8 (Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe) and SHARE COVID-19 Survey served as the database, resulting in an analytical sample of 17,588 respondents from 23 European countries plus Israel. Of these 36.04% engaged in at least one BRF and 16.68% engaged in 3 or more BRFs. Multilevel logistic regressions revealed that engagement in one BRF was significantly associated with less adherence to hygiene preventive measures, i.e., hand-sanitizing, hand-washing and covering coughs and sneezes (OR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.78; 0.94), as was engagement in two BRFs (OR: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.74; 0.97) and three or more BRFs (OR: 0.72; 95% CI: 0.59; 0.88). No such association was found between engagement in BRFs and adherences to social isolation preventive measures, i.e., avoiding meeting more than five people, visiting others or going shopping, or regulated preventive measures, i.e., wearing a mask and keeping physical distance. The found association was also stronger when three or more BRFs were engaged in (1 vs. 3 BRFs: χ2 = 3.43, p = 0.06; 2 vs. 3 BRFs: χ2 = 6.05; p = 0.01). The study gives insight into the protective behavior of a population with inherent vulnerability during a global health emergency. It lays the foundation for follow-up research about the evolution of adherence to preventive measures as the pandemic progresses and about long-term behavioral changes. In addition, it can aide efforts in increasing preventive compliance by raising awareness of the added risk behavioral risk factors pose.

The Consumption of New Psychoactive Substances and Methamphetamine.

BACKGROUND: The abuse of new psychoactive substances (NPS) and methamphetamine has severe adverse effects. Here we provide the first report of regional patterns in NPS and methamphetamine consumption in Germany, on the basis of epidemiologic data from six federal states (Bavaria, Hamburg, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony, and Thuringia). METHODS: Data were derived from the 2015 Epidemiological Survey of Substance Abuse (Epidemiologischer Suchtsurvey) and supplemented with additional cases from the federal states that were studied. The numbers of persons included in the representative samples of persons aged 18 to 64 in each state were 1916 (Bavaria), 1125 (Hamburg), 1151 (Hesse), 2008 (North Rhine-Westphalia), 1897 (Saxony), and 1543 (Thuringia). Potential risk factors for the lifetime prevalence of consumption were studied by logistic regression. RESULTS: The lifetime prevalence of methamphetamine consumption in the individual states ranged from 0.3% (North Rhine-Westphalia) to 2.0% (Saxony). Thuringia and Saxony displayed values that were significantly higher than average. For NPS, the figures ranged from 2.2% (Bavaria) to 3.9% (Hamburg), but multivariate analysis revealed no statistically significant differences between the states. Higher age and higher educational level were associated with lower consumption of NPS and methamphetamine, while smoking and cannabis use were each associated with higher consumption. CONCLUSION: NPS consumption is equally widespread in all of the federal states studied. Methamphetamine is rarely consumed; its consumption appears to be higher in Saxony and Thuringia. The risk factor analysis reported here should be interpreted cautiously in view of the low case numbers with respect to consumption.

Consumption Patterns of Nightlife Attendees in Munich: A Latent-Class Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The affinity for substance use among patrons of nightclubs has been well established. With novel psychoactive substances (NPS) quickly emerging on the European drug market, trends, and patterns of use are potentially changing. OBJECTIVES: (1) The detection of subgroups of consumers in the electronic dance music scene of a major German metropolitan city, (2) describing the consumption patterns of these subgroups, (3) exploring the prevalence and type of NPS consumption in this population at nightlife events in Munich. METHODS: A total of 1571 patrons answered questions regarding their own substance use and the emergence of NPS as well as their experience with these substances. A latent class analysis was employed to detect consumption patterns within the sample. RESULTS: A four class model was determined reflecting different consumption patterns: the conservative class (34.9%) whose substance was limited to cannabis; the traditional class (36.6%) which especially consumed traditional club drugs; the psychedelic class (17.5%) which, in addition to traditional club drugs also consumed psychedelic drugs; and an unselective class (10.9%) which displayed the greatest likelihood of consumption of all assessed drugs. "Smoking mixtures" and methylone were the new substances mentioned most often, the number of substances mentioned differed between latent classes. CONCLUSION: Specific strategies are needed to reduce harm in those displaying the riskiest substance use. Although NPS use is still a fringe phenomenon its prevalence is greater in this subpopulation than in the general population, especially among users in the high-risk unselective class.

Cross-cultural variation in the association between family's socioeconomic status and adolescent alcohol use.

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: This study estimates cross-country variation in socioeconomic disparities in adolescent alcohol use and identifies country-level characteristics associated with these disparities. DESIGN AND METHODS: The association between socioeconomic status (family wealth and parental education) and alcohol use (lifetime use and episodic heavy drinking) of 15- to 16-year-olds from 32 European countries was investigated. Country-level characteristics were national income, income inequality and per capita alcohol consumption. Multilevel modelling was applied. RESULTS: Across countries, lifetime use was lower in wealthy than in less wealthy families (odds ratio [OR](girls)  = 0.95, OR(boys)  = 0.94). The risk of episodic heavy drinking, in contrast, was higher for children from wealthier families (OR(girls)  = 1.04, OR(boys)  = 1.08) and lower when parents were highly educated (ORs = 0.95-0.98). Socioeconomic disparities varied substantially between countries. National wealth and income inequality were associated with cross-country variation of disparities in lifetime use in few comparisons, such that among girls, the (negative) effect of family wealth was greatest in countries with unequally distributed income (OR = 0.86). Among boys, the (negative) effect of family wealth was greatest in low-income countries (OR = 1.00), and the (positive) effect of mothers' education was greatest in countries with high income inequality (OR = 1.11). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Socioeconomic disparities in adolescent alcohol use vary across European countries. Broad country-level indicators can explain this variation only to a limited extent, but results point towards slightly greater socioeconomic disparities in drinking in countries of low national income and countries with a high income inequality. [Gomes de Matos E, Kraus L, Hannemann T-V, Soellner R, Piontek D. Cross-cultural variation in the association between family's socioeconomic status and adolescent alcohol use.