Biomedical subjects

Dartiu Xavier Da Silveira

Publications and source records attributed to Dartiu Xavier Da Silveira.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Predicting craving among cocaine users.

INTRODUCTION: Craving for cocaine seems to play an important role in the continued use of and dependence on the substance. AIMS: to describe characteristics of the craving phenomenon in a sample of cocaine users and to identify those that could predict the appearance of the phenomenon. METHOD: 205 cocaine users attending an outpatient clinic were interviewed to assess patterns of drug consumption and characteristics of craving for the drug. FINDINGS: Subjects were mostly young (24.8+/-12.8 years) and male (86.2%). One hundred and two subjects (49.8%) were addicted to cocaine and the remainders (50.2%) were non-addicted occasional cocaine users. The majority of subjects (60.5%) reported having had craving episodes during the previous week. Frequency of cocaine use during the previous month correlated with the number of reported craving fits (r=0.425; p<0.001) and with the duration of the craving fits (r=0.351; p<0.001). Users of crack reported more craving episodes than did the users of snorted cocaine (p<0.001) and the frequency of craving fits was inversely proportional to the duration of abstinence from the drug (r=-0.405; p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Both the method of drug consumption and the abstinence period elapsed since previous drug intake were identified as predictive parameters of craving.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Ayahuasca in adolescence: a preliminary psychiatric assessment.

Ayahuasca is believed to be harmless for those (including adolescents) drinking it within a religious setting. Nevertheless controlled studies on the mental/ psychiatric status of ritual hallucinogenic ayahuasca concoction consumers are still lacking. In this study, 40 adolescents from a Brazilian ayahuasca sect were compared with 40 controls matched on sex, age, and educational background for psychiatric symptomatology. Screening scales for depression, anxiety, alcohol consumption patterns (abuse), attentional problems, and body dysmorphic disorders were used. It was found that, compared to controls, considerable lower frequencies of positive scoring for anxiety, body dismorphism, and attentional problems were detected among ayahuasca-using adolescents despite overall similar psychopathological profiles displayed by both study groups. Low frequencies of psychiatric symptoms detected among adolescents consuming ayahuasca within a religious context may reflect a protective effect due to their religious affiliation. However further studies on the possible interference of other variables in the outcome are necessary.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Report on psychoactive drug use among adolescents using ayahuasca within a religious context.

Ritual use of ayahuasca within the context of the Brazilian ayahuasca churches often starts during late childhood or early adolescence. Premature access to psychoactive drugs may represent a risk factor for drug misuse. Conversely, religious affiliation seems to play a protective role in terms of substance abuse. The objective of this study was to describe patterns of drug use in a sample of adolescents using ayahuasca within a religious setting. Forty-one adolescents from a Brazilian ayahuasca sect were compared with 43 adolescents who never drank ayahuasca. No significant differences were identified in terms of lifetime substance consumption. Throughout the previous year period, ayahuasca adolescents used less alcohol (46.31%) than the comparison group (74.4%). Recent use of alcohol was also more frequent among the latter group (65.1%) than among ayahuasca drinkers (32.5%). Although not statistically significant, slight differences in terms of patterns of drug use were definitely observed among groups. Despite their early exposure to a hallucinogenic substance, adolescents using ayahuasca in a controlled setting were mostly comparable to controls except for a considerably smaller proportion of alcohol users. Religious affiliation may have played a central role as a possible protective factor for alcohol use. Thus, ayahuasca seems to be a relatively safe substance as far as drug misuse is concerned.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Binge-eating disorder in Brazilian women on a weight-loss program.

OBJECTIVE: To examine binge-eating disorder (BED) and its association with obesity, weight patterns, and psychopathology in a Brazilian sample of female participants of a weight-loss program in São Paulo, Brazil. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Two hundred and seventeen overweight (body mass index >/= 25 kg/m(2)) women, ages 15 to 59 years, enrolled in the Weight Watchers Program were recruited for the study at a program branch meeting after completing the Questionnaire on Eating and Weight Patterns-Revised, Beck Depression Inventory, and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20. Participants were categorized into four groups: those who met questionnaire criteria for BED, those who met questionnaire criteria for bulimia nervosa (BN), those that reported binge eating but did not meet all the criteria for any eating disorder (BE), and those with no eating disorder symptoms (No ED). Groups were compared on measures of weight, depressive symptoms, and alexithymia. RESULTS: Binge eating was frequently reported by women in this study (BED, 16.1%; BN, 4.6%; BE, 22.6%). BED women had significantly higher body mass index, greater highest weight ever, and more frequent weight cycling than the No ED group. BED women also reported more depressive symptoms than BE and No ED women, and were more alexithymic than the No ED group. BE women presented more frequent weigh cycling and were also more depressed and alexithymic than the No ED group. DISCUSSION: BED is not uncommon in overweight Brazilian women, and similar to North American and European samples, it is associated with overweight and higher levels of psychopathology in this population.

Adolescent↗