In this post, we present research on substance use in a COVID-19 setting. The results are based on publications registered in PubMed as published from January 1st, 2020, to June 5th, 2021.
The analysis of all research including covid-19 terms, AND substance use-related terms in title or abstract in PubMed from January 1st, 2020 to June 5th, 2021, is based on 2243 articles, which gave 510 keywords that appear in 5 or more manuscripts, that divided into 5 clusters.
The red cluster could be called “risk factors.” It includes four main topics: a) comorbidity, underlying diseases, hospitalization, and treatment. b) age factors and how taste and smell may be affected. C) risk assessments and time factors, and d) a small cluster on pain and pain management.
The green cluster could be called “substance use disorders.” This cluster includes two main topics: a) opioid-related disorders and treatment of this with, e.g., methadone and buprenorphine. Telemedicine, prevention, and harm reduction are also central to this topic. b) Another topic is public health.
The yellow cluster could be called “smoking.” It includes one main topic: research on smoking nicotine, e-cigarettes, lungs, and inflammation.
The purple cluster could be called “mental health and health behaviors.” It includes two main topics: a) research on mental health, including anxiety and depression, stress, and psychological adaptation. b) A second cluster includes research on quarantine and lockdown, social isolation and loneliness, and different lifestyle factors and health behaviors such as exercise, sleep, alcohol use, diet.
The blue cluster could be called “alcohol and infection control.” The cluster includes four main topics: a) epidemiology and infectious diseases, outbreaks and testing, b) research on preventative measures such as the use of hand sanitizers and masks. c) A third topic is on hospitals, including both health care personnel and patients. d) alcohol in relation to infectious disease control and public policy.
The search: title/abstracts that included any of the following:
- COVID-19,
- SARS-CoV-2,
- severe acute respiratory syndrome
- coronavirus 2,
- 2019 novel coronavirus
- 2019-nCoV
- AND any of the following:
- alcohol,
- tobacco,
- smoking,
- snus,
- opioid,
- opiate,
- methadone,
- buprenorphine,
- cannabis,
- amphetamine,
- methamphetamine,
- nicotine,
- cocaine,
- ecstasy,
- MDMA,
- hash,
- heroin,
- kratom,
- hallucinogen,
- GHB,
- inhalants,
- ketamine,
- marijuana,
- khat,
- synthetic cathinone,
- benzodiazepine,
- z-hypnotic,
- cannabinol,
- LSD,
- snuff,
- pcp,
- thc,
- anabolic steroid,
- narcotic,
- depressants,
- illicit substance,
- illegal substance,
- psychoactive drug.
In the table below, we have listed the 20 most central keywords in each cluster.
| Red cluster | Green cluster | Blue cluster | Yellow cluster | Purple cluster |
| risk factor | opioid-related disorders | alcohol | smoking | adolescent |
| comorbidity | telemedicine | communicable disease control | children | mental health |
| aged, 80 and over | public health | health personnel | electronic nicotine delivery systems | alcohol use |
| hospitalization | substance-related disorders | epidemiology | angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 | anxiety |
| severity of illness index | analgesics, opioid | socioeconomic factors | tobacco | depression |
| age factors | health services accessibility | infection control | lung | quarantine |
| mortality | buprenorphine | disinfection | inflammation | prevalence |
| prognosis | opiate substitution treatment | hand sanitizers | animals | lockdown |
| sex factors | opioid use disorder | social media | vaping | alcohol use disorder |
| obesity | smoking cessation | hand hygiene | ace2 | stress, psychological |
| diabetes mellitus | opioids | ethanol | nicotine | exercise |
| cardiovascular diseases | cannabis | covid-19 testing | child, preschool | social isolation |
| hypertension | substance use | emergency service, hospital | antiviral agents | health behavior |
| treatment outcome | delivery of health care | global health | infant | life style |
| risk assessment | narcotic antagonists | hand disinfection | peptidyl-dipeptidase a | stress |
| incidence | harm reduction | health knowledge, attitudes, practice | smokers | diet |
| respiration, artificial | mental disorders | masks | sars | physical activity |
| hospital mortality | methadone | disease outbreaks | tobacco smoking | feeding behavior |
| intensive care units | drug overdose | health status | cigarette smoking | lifestyle |
| pulmonary disease, chronic obstructive | health policy | personal protective equipment | cytokines | sleep |
To open the map directly in VOSviewer, please use the Keyword co-occurrence MAP and NET files on CovidSubstanceUse saved in June 2021, available through the Open Science Foundation (OSF) repository: https://osf.io/54gqw/