ArticleDrug and alcohol dependence2021
Therapeutic benefit with caveats?: Analyzing social media data to understand the complexities of kratom use.
Article in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed.
- Innovations in health behavior research: Current status and strategic future directions.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Characteristics of adverse reactions to kratom and implementation of harm reduction strategies in a sample of ethnobotanical tea bar patrons in Colorado.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- Observational real-world analysis of dose-dependent effects ofFrontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Multifaceted modulation of human opioid receptors by kratom alkaloids: binding affinity, functional selectivity, and allosteric activity.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Kratom use among ethnobotanical tea bar patrons in Colorado: Subjective drug effects, adverse reactions, and perceived benefits of use.Drug and alcohol dependence reports · 2025Article
- Which social media platforms facilitate monitoring the opioid crisis?PLOS digital health · 2025Article
- Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) use for self-management of pain: Insights from cross-sectional and ecological momentary assessment data.The journal of pain · 2025Article
- Kratom addiction per DSM-5 SUD criteria, and kratom physical dependence: Insights from dosing amount versus frequency.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2024Article
- Examining the Gateway Hypothesis and Mapping Substance Use Pathways on Social Media: Machine Learning Approach.JMIR formative research · 2024Article
- Novel methods for the remote investigation of emerging substances: Application to kratom.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2024Article
- Ecological Momentary Assessment of Self-Reported Kratom Use, Effects, and Motivations Among US Adults.JAMA network open · 2024Article
- Growing pains with kratom: experiences discussed in subreddits contrast with satisfaction expressed in surveys.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Article
- Effects of kratom on driving: Results from a cross-sectional survey, ecological momentary assessment, and pilot simulated driving Study.Traffic injury prevention · 2024Article
- Kratom safety and toxicology in the public health context: research needs to better inform regulation.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Review
- Investigating Substance Use via Reddit: Systematic Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Article
- Correlations of kratom (Mitragyna speciosa Korth.) use behavior and psychiatric conditions from a cross-sectional survey.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2023Observational
- Kratom withdrawal: Discussions and conclusions of a scientific expert forum.Drug and alcohol dependence reports · 2023Article
- Evaluating health information provided to kratom consumers by good manufacturing practice-qualified vendors.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2023Article
- COVID-19-Related Changes to Drug-Selling Networks and Their Effects on People Who Use Illicit Opioids.Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs · 2023Article
- Kratom's Emergence and Persistence Within the US Polydrug Epidemic.Current addiction reports · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMitragyna speciosa, referred to as "kratom", is increasingly used in the United States for self-treating pain, psychiatric, and substance use disorder symptoms. It is used by some to attenuate opioid withdrawal and as a longer-term drug substitute. Most self-report data have come from online surveys, small in-person surveys, and case reports. These may not be representative of the broader kratom-using population. PURPOSE: Analyze user-generated social media posts to determine if independent, descriptive accounts are generally consistent with prior U.S. kratom survey findings and gain a more nuanced understanding of kratom use patterns.
methodsReddit posts mentioning kratom from 42 subreddits between June 2019-July 2020 were coded by two independent raters.
findingsRelevant posts (number of comments, upvotes, and downvotes) from 1274 posts comprised the final sample (n = 280). Of the 1521 codes applied, 1273 (83.69%) were concordant. Desirable kratom effects were described among a majority, but so too were adverse effects. Reports of kratom as acute self-treatment for opioid withdrawal were more prominent compared to longer-term opioid substitution. Quantitative analysis found higher kratom doses associated (p < .001) with greater odds of reported kratom addiction (OR = 3.56) or withdrawal (OR = 5.88), with slightly lower odds of desirable effects (OR = 0.53, p = .014). Despite perceived therapeutic benefits, kratom was characterized by some in terms of addiction that, in some cases, appeared dose-dependent. Polydrug use was also prominently discussed.
conclusionsResults validated many prior survey findings while illustrating complexities of kratom use that are not being fully captured and require continued investigation.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.