Do temperament and character modify risk of drug addiction and influence choice of drugs?
Novelty Seeking appears to be a general risk factor for drug addiction. High Harm Avoidance appears to channel individuals with high Novelty Seeking towards alcoholism. Immature character traits and probable Personality Disorder increase the risk of illegal drugs. Based on equivalent research in nonpermissive environments, at least a portion of our opiate addicts could have developed alcoholism instead in environments with more limited access to opiates. Personality factors provide useful guidelines for preventive work with young individuals with personality risk factors for drug addiction.
Endoscopic grading can predict histological atrophy with few false negatives, indicating that precancerous conditions can be identified during screening endoscopy, particularly in patients in western countries.