Therapeutic benefit with caveats?: Analyzing social media data to understand the complexities of kratom use.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Mitragyna 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.

Methods

Reddit posts mentioning kratom from 42 subreddits between June 2019-July 2020 were coded by two independent raters.<

SUBMITTER: Smith KE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8355181 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature