The persistence of growth impairments associated with adolescent inhalant abuse following sustained abstinence

Abstract

Background: Abuse of inhalants containing the volatile solvent toluene is a significant public health issue, especially for adolescent and Indigenous communities. We previously demonstrated that inhalant abuse (petrol sniffing) during adolescence results in impairments to height and weight. The aim of this study was to understand whether these impairments resolve or persist into early adulthood, following sustained abstinence. Methods: Baseline data were collected from 118 Indigenous males; 86 chronically sniffed petrol during adolescence. Following 2 years sustained abstinence, data were again collected from a subset (n = 40) of this population; 30 sniffed petrol during adolescence. This st..