@article{ref1,
title="Trends in fentanyl content on reddit substance use forums, 2013-2021",
journal="Journal of general internal medicine",
year="2023",
author="Bunting, Amanda M. and Krawczyk, Noa and Lippincott, Thomas and Gu, Yuanqi and Arya, Simran and Nagappala, Suhas and Meacham, Meredith C.",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Fentanyl is a pressing concern in the current drug supply. Social media data can provide access to near real-time understanding of drug trends that may complement official mortality data. <br><br>DESIGN: The total number of fentanyl-related posts and the total number of posts for eight drug subreddit categories (alcohol, cannabis, hallucinogens, multi-drug, opioids, over the counter, sedatives, stimulants) were collected from 2013 to 2021 using the Pushshift Reddit dataset. The proportion of fentanyl-related posts as a fragment of total subreddit posts was examined. Linear regressions described the rate of change in post volume over time. <br><br>RESULTS: Overall, fentanyl-related content increased across drug-related subreddits from 2013 to 2021 (1292% increase, linear trend p ≤ 0.001). Opioid subreddits (30.62 per 1000 posts, linear trend p ≤ 0.001) had the most fentanyl-related content during the examined time period. Multi-drug (5.95 per 1000; p ≤ 0.01), sedative (3.23 per 1000, p ≤ 0.01), and stimulant (1.60 per 1000, p ≤ 0.01) subreddits also had substantial increases in fentanyl-related content. The greatest increases occurred in the multi-drug (1067% 2013:2021) and stimulant (1862% 2014:2021) subreddits. <br><br>CONCLUSION: Fentanyl-related posts on Reddit trended upward, with the fastest rate of change for multi-substance and stimulant subreddits. Beyond opioids, harm reduction and public health messaging should ensure inclusion of individuals who use other drugs.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0884-8734",
doi="10.1007/s11606-023-08256-7",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11606-023-08256-7"
}