Factors associated with the use of psychedelics, ketamine and MDMA among sexual and gender minority youths in Canada: a machine learning analysis

Dharma, Christoffer, Liu, Esther, Grace, Daniel, Logie, Carmen, Abramovich, Alex, Mitsakakis, Nicholas, Baskerville, Bruce and Chaiton, Michael, (2024). Factors associated with the use of psychedelics, ketamine and MDMA among sexual and gender minority youths in Canada: a machine learning analysis. J Epidemiol Community Health, 78(4), 248-254

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  • Sub-type Journal article
    Author Dharma, Christoffer
    Liu, Esther
    Grace, Daniel
    Logie, Carmen
    Abramovich, Alex
    Mitsakakis, Nicholas
    Baskerville, Bruce
    Chaiton, Michael
    Title Factors associated with the use of psychedelics, ketamine and MDMA among sexual and gender minority youths in Canada: a machine learning analysis
    Appearing in J Epidemiol Community Health
    Volume 78
    Issue No. 4
    Publication Date 2024-04-01
    Place of Publication London
    Publisher BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
    Start page 248
    End page 254
    Language eng
    Abstract Background Substance use is increasing among sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY). This increase may be due to changes in social norms and socialisation, or due to SGMY exploring the potential therapeutic value of drugs such as psychedelics. We identified predictors of psychedelics, MDMA and ketamine use. Methods Data were obtained from 1414 SGMY participants who completed the ongoing longitudinal 2SLGBTQ+ Tobacco Project in Canada between November 2020 to January 2021. We examined the association between 80 potential features (including sociodemographic factors, mental health-related factors and substance use-related factors) with the use of psychedelics, MDMA and ketamine in the past year. Random forest classifier was used to identify the predictors most associated with reported use of these drugs. Results 18.1% of participants have used psychedelics in the past year; 21.9% used at least one of the three drugs. Cannabis and cocaine use were the predictors most strongly associated with any of these drugs, while cannabis, but not cocaine use, was the one most associated with psychedelic use. Other mental health and 2SLGBTQ+ stigma-related factors were also associated with the use of these drugs. Conclusion The use of psychedelics, MDMA and ketamine among 2SLGBTQ+ individuals appeared to be largely driven by those who used them together with other drugs. Depression scores also appeared in the top 10 factors associated with these illicit drugs, suggesting that there were individuals who may benefit from the potential therapeutic value of these drugs. These characteristics should be further investigated in future studies.
    Copyright Holder BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
    Copyright Year 2024
    Copyright type All rights reserved
    DOI https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2023-220748
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    Created: Wed, 23 Oct 2024, 02:34:48 JST by Haideh Beigi on behalf of UNU INWEH