Substance use measures among women in early pregnancy.
OBJECTIVE
Our purpose was to compare self-reported and biochemical measures for tobacco, marijuana, and cocaine exposures among women early in pregnancy.


METHODS
Women who were in the early stages of pregnancy and were examined in an inner-city emergency department were enrolled. Tobacco, marijuana, and cocaine use was measured by self-report and urinalysis. Cocaine use was also assessed by hair analysis.


RESULTS
Data were available for 789 women. Among those reporting past use of tobacco, marijuana, and cocaine, 25.2%, 23.9%, and 22.7%, respectively, had positive results of urinary assays; among those reporting current use, 77.2%, 86.6%, and 75.9% had positive findings, whereas among those reporting never use 5.6%, 5. 7%, and 3.6% of results were positive. Hair analysis, in comparison with urine testing, for cocaine identified 4 times as many exposures among women who reported never using cocaine.


CONCLUSIONS
Urinary assays were equally likely to be positive among women reporting never use and those reporting past use of tobacco, marijuana, or cocaine. Thus women with a positive biologic assay result were as likely to deny use of tobacco as they were to deny marijuana, or cocaine.
Markovic
N
N
Women's Health Program, Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA. ninam@vms.cis.pitt.edu
Ness
R B
RB
Cefilli
D
D
Grisso
J A
JA
Stahmer
S
S
Shaw
L M
LM
D002186:Cannabinoids / Q000652:urine; D003042:Cocaine / Q000032:analysis / Q000652:urine; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders; D003367:Cotinine / Q000652:urine; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D002189:Marijuana Abuse; D009538:Nicotine / Q000652:urine; D011247:Pregnancy; D012907:Smoking; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection
D002186:Cannabinoids; D009538:Nicotine; D003042:Cocaine; D003367:Cotinine