Nitrous Oxide Inhalation Among Adolescents: Prevalence, Correlates, and Co-Occurrence with Volatile Solvent Inhalation

Abstract

Few studies have examined the prevalence of nitrous oxide (NO) inhalation or co-occurrence of NO and volatile solvent (VS) use in adolescents. Study aims were to (1) describe the independent and conjoint prevalence of NO and VS use in incarcerated youth, (2) compare adolescent users of both NO and VS inhalants (NO+VS) to users of NO-only, VS-only, and nonusers of NO and VS (NO/VS nonusers) with regard to demographic, psychological, and behavioral characteristics, and (3) conduct logistic regression analyses identifying correlates of NO use. Residents (N = 723) of Missouri Division of Youth Services were assessed with standardized psychosocial measures. Participants averaged 15.5 (SD = 1.2) years of age, were ethnically diverse and predominantly male. Lifetime prevalence of NO use was 15.8%. NO+VS users evidenced greater impairments compared to NO+VS nonusers. VS-only users evidenced impairments that were similar in kind but at lower prevalences compared to those displayed by NO+VS users, whereas NO-only youth had profiles that were similar to those of NO/VS nonusers. Psychiatric disorders, polydrug use, and temperamental fearlessness were correlates of NO use. NO+VS users were at high risk for behavioral and emotional problems. Screening and interventions for NO and VS inhalant use should be implemented in juvenile justice facilities.

Professional Burnout in Anaesthesia and Critical Care - How to Decrease it

“…The incidence of abuse is higher than general physicians and estimated to be around 1% in faculty members and 1.6% of residents [17]. The commonly abused drugs include opioids(morphine, fentanyl and sufentanil), propofol, ketamine, nitrous oxide and volatile anesthetics [18][19][20][21]. Addiction to drugs impairs the health care professional and makes them vulnerable.…”

Volatile Substance Misuse in the United States

“…Unfortunately, VSM has traditionally been assessed in surveys using a single omnibus item listing a number of substances with different structural and pharmacological properties. Recent reports have examined misuse of asthma inhalers (Perron & Howard, 2008b), nitrites (Hall & Howard, 2009), nitrous oxide (Garland, Howard, & Perron, 2009), computer "duster" spray (Garland & Howard, 2010b), and prevalence of use and subjective intoxication in relation to more than 50 specific volatile substances (Howard, Balster, Cottler, Wu, & Vaughn, 2008). Garland and Howard (2010a) recently examined the phenomenology of adolescent VSM intoxication, noting that the prevalence of various hedonic and aversive reactions varied across different volatile substances and by frequency of VSM, suggesting that agents with different physiochemical properties have distinct cognitive, affective, and somatic effects, and that the psychological sequelae of chronic VSM may differ significantly from those stemming from casual VSM (see Table 4).…”

“…Although the nexus of causal relations between mental health dysfunction and VSM remains to be elucidated, recent studies suggest that one subgroup of volatile substance misusers use these substances to medicate negative emotional states (Perron, Vaughn, & Howard, 2008), and such self-medication motives significantly predict adverse psychosocial consequences of VSM (Garland & Howard, 2010a). Further, comparatively more severe psychiatric dysfunction appears to predict greater frequency of lifetime VSM and the use of potentially toxic combinations of volatile substances (Garland et al, 2009).…”

N-Methyl-d-Aspartate Receptor Channel Blocker–Like Discriminative Stimulus Effects of Nitrous Oxide Gas

“…Nitrous oxide gas (N 2 O), a widely used anesthetic adjunct in dentistry and surgical anesthesia, is subject to widespread abuse (Garland et al, 2009), with as many as 88,000 people aged 12-17 years annually initiating nonmedical recreational use (http://oas. samhsa.gov/2k9/inhalantTrends/inhalantTrends.htm).…”