Crystal meth use linked to sex, alcohol

Teen drug users living in unstable family environments are most likely to use crystal methamphetamine, Canadian researchers said.

Study leader Dr. Terry Klassen and colleagues at the University of Alberta conducted an exhaustive search of the literature on methamphetamine use, analyzing the results of a dozen studies to get a big picture of factors at the individual, family and community level associated with crystal methamphetamine use by children and adolescents.

The researchers divided children and adolescents into two groups: low-risk with no previous history of drug use and high-risk with history of drug use or time spent in a juvenile detention center.

In the low-risk group, boys were more likely to try crystal methamphetamine than girls. Being homosexual or bisexual was also a risk factor for drug use.

In the high-risk group, more girls than boys used crystal methamphetamine. In this group, drinking was not associated with methamphetamine use, but a family history of alcohol abuse was. Child abuse was not found to be significant factor.

Teens who have never done illegal drugs, but engage in other risky behaviors such as drinking, smoking and being sexually active, were more likely to use crystal methamphetamine, the researchers wrote in the journal BMC Pediatrics.