Adolescent inhalant abuse leads to other drug use and impaired growth; implications for diagnosis

Rose Crossin; Sheree Cairney; Andrew J Lawrence; Jhodie R Duncan

Journal article

Adolescent inhalant abuse leads to other drug use and impaired growth; implications for diagnosis

Rose Crossin, Sheree Cairney, Andrew J Lawrence, Jhodie R Duncan

AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH | WILEY | Published : 2017

DOI: 10.1111/1753-6405.12595

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Abuse of inhalants containing the volatile solvent toluene is a significant public health issue, especially for adolescent and Indigenous communities. Adolescent inhalant abuse can lead to chronic health issues and may initiate a trajectory towards further drug use. Identification of at-risk individuals is difficult and diagnostic tools are limited primarily to measurement of serum toluene. Our objective was to identify the effects of adolescent inhalant abuse on subsequent drug use and growth parameters, and to test the predictive power of growth parameters as a diagnostic measure for inhalant abuse. METHODS: We retrospectively analysed drug use and growth data from 118 Indigenou..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Jhodie Duncan Author Anatomy and Physiology

Andrew Lawrence Author Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health

Related Projects (2)

RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP

I am a neuroscientist, studying fundamental mechanisms related to addiction. A major feature of my research is the neuropharmacological char..

The long-term consequences of toluene exposure on the maturing brain.

Inhalant abuse is a significant problem especially among adolescent and indigenous communities. This project will provide insights into the ..

Grants

Awarded by NHMRC

Awarded by Australian Research Council

Funding Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr Chris Burns and Professor Paul Maruff for data collection. The research was supported by NHMRC (940835), of which AJL is a Principal Research Fellow (1020737), the Australian Research Council (DP 110100379) of which JRD was a Future Fellow during the time of the study (100100235) and the Victorian Government's Operational Infrastructure Support Scheme.