@article{1fd01f70bf034fe8ae4c38981c4c430f,
title = "Morbidity in a population of low-income, female users of MDMA and other drugs",
abstract = "Few previous studies have reported on the overall health of drug-using women. To investigate this, 696 low-income women aged 1831 were recruited in a cross-sectional study from gynecological care clinics in Texas between 2001 and 2003. Compared to exclusive marijuana users and nondrug users, women who used MDMA and those who used other illicit drugs but not MDMA reported more gynecological conditions, medical conditions, depressive symptoms, and physical somatic complaints. We concluded that young, low-income women who used more than one illicit drug experience significantly more physical and psychological morbidity. Generalization of this study results may be limited to young women with low income but not to other populations.",
keywords = "Comorbidity, Health disparities, MDMA, Women's health",
author = "Wu, {Z. H.} and Nguyen-Oghalai, {T. U.} and Shokar, {N. K.} and Berenson, {A. B.} and L. Cottler",
note = "Funding Information: Abbey B. Berenson, MD, is a Professor in the Depart-ment of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Director of the UTMB Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women{\textquoteright}s Health. She has an international reputation for the quality of her clinical studies. The first area in which she devel-oped expertise was the morphology of the hymen. Her work on non-abused children clarified the normal appear-ance of the external genitalia and is often used by sexual abuse experts in the evaluation of young children to deter-mine if the genitalia has been traumatized. She has also conducted large-scale clinical studies on hormonal con-traception among women of reproductive age as well as studies on substance abuse, domestic violence, and psychosocial issues pertaining to women{\textquoteright}s health. Her work has been continuously funded by the Department of Defense, NIH, or HRSA since 1994. Over her career, she has authored or co-authored over 90 peer-reviewed articles, 18 invited chapters, and one textbook. Funding Information: Navkiran Shokar, MD, MPH, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. She has received funding from the National Cancer Institute. Her research interests include examining the role of culture on individual health behaviors and on interactions within the health care environment. Her work over the last few years has focused on understanding and addressing health disparities related to the uptake of cancer screening. In addition to her research activities, Dr Shokar remains a practicing family physician with an active patient population. Funding Information: This study was funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA R03DA14841, NIDA K01DA01814), with additional support from the General Clinical Research Center (Protocol No. 567) at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston. Dr. Cottler is also supported by NIDA K01DA01814. Dr. Berenson is supported by a midcareer investigator award in patient-oriented research (K24 HD043659). The authors express their appreciation to Ms. Areli Duran, Ms. Lindsay Maurer, and Mr. Liu Mouyong, members from the UTMB Regional Maternal and Child Health Program Pathology Outreach Services. The authors also thank Ms. Kimberly Bufton and the laboratory technicians from the pathology laboratory.",
year = "2009",
doi = "10.1080/10826080802501729",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "44",
pages = "1039--1054",
journal = "Substance Use and Misuse",
issn = "1082-6084",
publisher = "Informa Healthcare",
number = "7",
}