nj acts logoPlease read Dr. Crystal’s article in Preventive Medicine Reports titled, “Brief original report: Does smoking status provide information relevant to screening for other substance use among US adults?

Alcohol and drug use remain leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States (US). Guidelines recommend screening for unhealthy alcohol  and drug use   in primary care, though financial or time constraints may hinder the ability for a clinic to conduct comprehensive screening for alcohol and other substance use. Tobacco use, a leading cause of death that is routinely assessed in clinical practice is strongly associated with other substance use. Tobacco screening results may hence provide information on clinic populations at increased risk of other substance use who should be targeted for more comprehensive substance use screening, in cases when universal screening is not possible. While prior studies have documented associations between tobacco use and other alcohol and drug use, no prior study to our knowledge has examined tobacco use as a screening tool, in which test performance characteristics for detection of other substance use outcomes were calculated (i.e., sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, positive and negative likelihood ratios). To read the full article.

Brief original report: Does smoking status provide information relevant to screening for other substance use among US adults? Khan MR, Ban K, Caniglia EC, Edelman JE, Gaither J, Crystal S, Chichetto NE, Young KE, Tate J, Justice AC, Braithwaite RS.Prev Med Rep. 2021 Jul 6;23:101483. PMID: 34345578 PMCID: PMC8319511 DOI: 1016/j.pmedr.2021.101483 eCollection 2021 Sep