Basic and Clinical Neuroscience (Apr 2020)
COVID-19 and Substance Use Disorders: Recommendations to a Comprehensive Healthcare Response. An International Society of Addiction Medicine (ISAM) Practice and Policy Interest Group Position Paper
- Ali Farhoudian,
- Alexander Baldacchino,
- Nicolas Clark,
- Gilberto Gerra,
- Hamed Ekhtiari,
- Geert Dom,
- Azarakhsh Mokri,
- Mandana Sadeghi,
- Pardis Nematollahi,
- Maryanne Demasi,
- Christian G. Schütz,
- Seyed Mohammadreza Hashemian,
- Payam Tabarsi,
- Susanna Galea-singer,
- Giuseppe Carrà,
- Thomas Clausen,
- Christos Kouimtsidis,
- Serenella Tolomeo,
- Seyed Ramin Radfar,
- Emran Mohammad Razaghi
Affiliations
- Ali Farhoudian
- Department of Psychiatry, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.; Substance Abuse and Dependence Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
- Alexander Baldacchino
- Division of Population and Behavioral Sciences, St Andrews University Medical School, University of St Andrews, UK.
- Nicolas Clark
- North Richmond Community Health, Victoria, Melbourne, Australia.; Royal Melbourne Hospital, Victoria, Melbourne, Australia.
- Gilberto Gerra
- Drug Prevention and Health Branch, Division for Operations, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Vienna, Austria.
- Hamed Ekhtiari
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA.
- Geert Dom
- Collaborative Antwerp Psychiatric Research Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
- Azarakhsh Mokri
- Department of Psychiatry, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
- Mandana Sadeghi
- Aftab Mehrvarzi Substance Abuse Treatment Center, Tehran, Iran.
- Pardis Nematollahi
- Cancer Prevention Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
- Maryanne Demasi
- North Richmond Community Health, Victoria, Melbourne, Australia.
- Christian G. Schütz
- Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC, Canada.
- Seyed Mohammadreza Hashemian
- Chronic Respiratory Diseases Research Center, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
- Payam Tabarsi
- Clinical Tuberculosis and Epidemiology Research Center, National Research Institute for Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (NRITLD), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
- Susanna Galea-singer
- Institute for Innovation and Improvement, IWaitematā DHB, Centre for Addictions Research, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
- Giuseppe Carrà
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Section of Psychiatry, University of Milan Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
- Thomas Clausen
- Norwegian Centre for Addiction Research (SERAF); University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
- Christos Kouimtsidis
- General Secretariat of Prime Minister, Ministry of Health, Athens, Greece.
- Serenella Tolomeo
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore.
- Seyed Ramin Radfar
- Substance Abuse and Dependence Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.; Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Emran Mohammad Razaghi
- Department of Psychiatry, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
- Journal volume & issue
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Vol. 11,
no. 2
pp. 133 – 146
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is escalating all over the world and has higher morbidities and mortalities in certain vulnerable populations. People Who Use Drugs (PWUD) are a marginalized and stigmatized group with weaker immunity responses, vulnerability to stress, poor health conditions, high-risk behaviors, and lower access to health care services. These conditions put them at a higher risk of COVID-19 infection and its complications. In this paper, an international group of experts on addiction medicine, infectious diseases, and disaster psychiatry explore the possible raised concerns in this issue and provide recommendations to manage the comorbidity of COVID-19 and Substance Use Disorder (SUD).
