Epidemiology
Here you can explore our current active projects and publications within epidemiology.
Current Projects
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Persistent Health Outcomes Associated with Naturalistic MDMA Use: A Systematic Review of Human Studies, 1999–2025
Most MDMA use happens outside a clinic, and claims about what it does to memory, mood, and neurological function over the long term circulate well ahead of the evidence behind them. This PROSPERO-registered systematic review synthesizes human studies published between 1999 and 2025 on health outcomes that persist after naturalistic MDMA use, assessing what the literature actually establishes and where it does not support the conclusions drawn from it. Regulators and payers weighing therapeutic MDMA need a defensible account of its risks, and right now that account is scattered across three decades of studies of uneven quality.
Publications
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Self-medication with psychedelics: a scoping review and narrative synthesis of review-level evidence
Shjju S, Tiimula R, Marseille E. Self-medication with psychedelics: a scoping review and narrative synthesis of review-level evidence. Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy. 2026.
Synthesizes the review-level evidence on people who use psychedelics to treat themselves: who does it, for which conditions, and what the existing literature can and cannot say about the results.
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Characteristics and mental health of psychedelic mushroom and multi-psychedelic users relative to non-psychedelic users in American adults, 2020–2021
Abramsky-Sze S, Marseille E, Matzopoulos R, Morlock R, Lerer L. Characteristics and mental health of psychedelic mushroom and multi-psychedelic users relative to non-psychedelic users in American adults, 2020–2021. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 2025;16:1508811.
Compares the demographic profile and mental health of American adults who use psilocybin mushrooms, or several psychedelics, against those who use none, drawing on national survey data from 2020 and 2021.