Drug abuse and serum nutritional biomarkers: A retrospective cohort study

Authors

  • Alfonso Daniel Silva Ochoa Laboratorio para Investigaciones Biomédicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, Guayaquil, Ecuador.
  • José Alejandro Valdevila Figueira Instituto de Neurociencias, Guayaquil, Ecuador.
  • Rocío Valdevila Santiesteban Universidad de Ciencias Médicas, Holguín, Cuba.
  • Diego Javier Estrella Almeida Instituto de Neurociencias, Guayaquil, Ecuador.
  • Luz Maria Valencia Erazo Laboratorio para Investigaciones Biomédicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, Guayaquil, Ecuador.
  • Andrea Katherine Orellana Manzano Laboratorio para Investigaciones Biomédicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, Guayaquil, Ecuador.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14306/renhyd.25.2.1157

Keywords:

Substance-Related Disorders, Alcoholism, Marijuana Abuse, Amphetamine-Related Disorders, Opioid-Related Disorders, Cocaine-Related Disorders, Transaminases, Erythrocyte Indices, Creatinine, Drug abuse

Abstract

Introduction: Drug abuse is a public health problem around the globe. Its implications in human health are harmful, compromising nutritional status. It has been shown that malnutrition is moderately prevalent in drug addicts, and a nutritional prescription is significantly beneficial for these patients. Available literature suggests altered blood serum biochemical data in drug addicts. Our study focused on blood serum nutritional biomarkers in drug addicts who did not have a nutritional assessment or treatment. This study aimed to analyze nutritional blood serum biomarkers in subjects diagnosed with drug addiction from January 2010 to June 2020.

Methods: The research was a retrospective cohort, analytical, observational, and was based on a convenience sample. Data about blood serum AST, ALT, fasting glucose, urea, creatinine, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and hemoglobin were analyzed from a database of 103 subjects diagnosed with mental and behavioral disorders due to the use of drugs and other psychoactive substances (ICD-10: F10-F19) in the Institute of Neurosciences (INC). Consumed drugs were alcohol, cocaine, amphetamines, MDNA, opioids, marijuana, and psychotropic drugs.

Results: The medians of hemoglobin, total cholesterol, HDL, and creatinine statistically differed between genders and age groups. There were more cases of low blood hemoglobin and hyperglycemia levels in men, (20.4, and 8.7%, respectively) than women (4.9%, and 0%, respectively). There were low levels of fasting glucose in 8.8% of our sample. Serum creatinine levels were significantly increased in subjects aged 30 or more.

Conclusions:In our sample, there were statistically different medians of hemoglobin, total cholesterol, HDL, and creatinine among groups of gender and age in drug addicts. All medians were within the normal range.

Author Biographies

Alfonso Daniel Silva Ochoa, Laboratorio para Investigaciones Biomédicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Food Technologist, Bachelor of Science in Nutrition, European Master in Food Science, Nutrition and Metabolism. Current professor in the undergraduate program of Nutrition and Dietetics from ESPOL, Guayaquil, Ecuador.

José Alejandro Valdevila Figueira, Instituto de Neurociencias, Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Medical doctor, specialist in psiquiatry.

Rocío Valdevila Santiesteban, Universidad de Ciencias Médicas, Holguín, Cuba.

General practitioner and researcher

Diego Javier Estrella Almeida, Instituto de Neurociencias, Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Doctor of Medicine, specialist in psiquiatry

Luz Maria Valencia Erazo, Laboratorio para Investigaciones Biomédicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Bachelor of Science in Nutrition, European Master in Food Science, Nutrition and Metabolism. Current professor in the undergraduate program of Nutrition and Dietetics from the Faculty of Life Sciences, ESPOL, Ecuador

Andrea Katherine Orellana Manzano, Laboratorio para Investigaciones Biomédicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Bachelor of Science in pharmacology, Ph.D. in pharmacology. Current professor in the undergraduate program of Nutrition and Dietetics from the Faculty of Life Sciences, ESPOL, Ecuador

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Published

2021-02-03

How to Cite

Silva Ochoa, A. D., Valdevila Figueira, J. A., Valdevila Santiesteban, R., Estrella Almeida, D. J., Valencia Erazo, L. M., & Orellana Manzano, A. K. (2021). Drug abuse and serum nutritional biomarkers: A retrospective cohort study. Spanish Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 25(2), 227–236. https://doi.org/10.14306/renhyd.25.2.1157