Use of mixed methods designs in substance research: a methodological necessity in Nigeria

The utility of mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) is becoming increasingly accepted in health sciences, but substance studies are yet to substantially benefit from such utilities. While there is a growing number of mixed methods alcohol articles concerning developed countries, developing nations are yet to embrace this method. In the Nigerian context, the importance of mixed methods research is yet to be acknowledged. This article therefore, draws on alcohol studies to argue that mixed methods designs will better equip scholars to understand, explore, describe and explain why alcohol consumption and its related problems are increasing in Nigeria. It argues that as motives for consuming alcohol in contemporary Nigeria are multiple, complex and evolving, mixed method approaches that provide multiple pathways for proffering solutions to problems should be embraced

Patients with AUD exhibit dampened heart rate variability during sleep as compared to social drinkers

Chronic heavy alcohol use profoundly affects the cardiovascular system, contributing to several life-threatening cardiovascular diseases. Heart rate variability (HRV), or the fluctuations in heart rate, reflects dynamic autonomic nervous system processes that change to meet biological demands and environmental challenges. In the current study, we examined whether HRV metrics are altered in alcohol use disorder (AUD) during waking and sleeping with passive biomonitoring as participants went about their daily lives. Social drinkers (standard deviation: n = 10, 5 female) and treatment-seeking individuals with moderate to severe AUD (n = 16, 7 female) provided continuous, real-world heart rate monitoring for 5 days of monitoring on average (M = 5.27 ± 2.22). Five indices of respiration and HRV—respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) amplitude, high frequency (HF), low frequency (LF), HF/LF ratio, root-mean-square standard deviation (RMSSD), and standard deviation of the N–N intervals (SDNN)—were analyzed separately for waking and sleeping hours. Both RMSSD and SDNN decreased the longer the participants were awake (Ps < .013). During sleeping hours, HF, RSA amplitude, RMSSD, and SDNN were significantly higher in light social drinkers as compared to patients with AUD (all Ps < .009), indicating higher parasympathetic activation during sleep in the SD versus AUD group. Sleep and waking HRV measures were significantly correlated with patient-reported symptoms of depression and sleep difficulties in the AUD group (Ps < .05). This natural observational study utilizing continuous autonomic biomonitoring in the real world indicates parasympathetic dysfunction that is clearly detectable during sleep in AUD and HRV measures, which are also related to clinical, patient-related symptoms of AUD.National Institutes of Health (NIH)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Differences between diurnal patterns of salivary cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone in healthy female adolescents

The adrenal hormones cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) share a common secretagogue: adrenocorticotropic hormone; however, secretion of these hormones can be dissociated suggesting subtle individual regulation at the level of the adrenal gland. We examined differences in the diurnal patterns of cortisol and DHEA secretion in healthy adolescent girls, with the aim of informing the possibility of exploiting these differences to aid interpretation of data from clinical populations in which these patterns can become dysregulated. Fifty-six healthy females aged 10–18 years provided saliva samples at 0 and 30 min (morning samples) and 12 h post-awakening on 2 consecutive weekdays. For morning salivary cortisol in relation to morning DHEA concentrations, correlational analysis revealed only a trend (p = 0.054). Similarly, the association between evening cortisol and DHEA was characterised as a trend (p = 0.084). Mean morning DHEA concentrations showed more day-to-day consistency than equivalent cortisol samples (r = 0.829 for DHEA and 0.468 for cortisol; z = 3.487, p < 0.0005). Unlike the cortisol pattern, characterised by a marked awakening response (cortisol awakening response, CAR), a significant rise in DHEA concentration post-awakening was not evident. Finally, there was a strong association between morning and evening concentrations of DHEA, not found for cortisol. The study shows differences in cortisol and DHEA secretion in the post-awakening period and informs work that seeks to examine correlates of dysregulated hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis function. Parallel examination of both hormones enables enhanced interpretation of aberrant patterns of the CAR, i.e. an exploration of whether dysregulation affects both hormones (reflecting overall steroidogenic capacity) or cortisol alone (CAR-specific mechanisms)