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The purpose of this paper is to characterize the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and substance use among people incarcerated in a county jail.

A questionnaire was administered to 199 individuals incarcerated in a Southwest county jail as part of a social-epidemiological exploration of converging comorbidities in incarcerated populations. Among 96 participants with complete ACEs data, the authors determined associations between individual ACEs items and a summative score with methamphetamine (meth), heroin, other opiates and cocaine use and binge drinking in the 30 days prior to incarceration using logistic regression.

People who self-reported use of methamphetamine, heroin, other opiates or cocaine in the 30 days prior to incarceration had higher average ACEs scores. Methamphetamine use was significantly associated with living with anyone who served time in a correctional facility and with someone trying to make them touch sexually. Opiate use was significantly associated with living with anyone who was depressed, mentally ill or suicidal; living with anyone who used illegal street drugs or misused prescription medications; and if an adult touched them sexually. Binge drinking was significantly associated with having lived with someone who was a problem drinker or alcoholic.

The findings point to a need for research to understand differences between methamphetamine use and opiate use in relation to particular adverse experiences during childhood and a need for tailored intervention for people incarcerated in jail.

Significant associations between methamphetamine use and opiate use and specific ACEs suggest important entry points for improving jail and community programming.

Using a seven-day cycle menu and commissary items at a rural county jail, this study aims to describe provisions of micronutrients known to be associated with mental health disorders and if they meet dietary guidelines.

The nutritional content of a seven-day cycle menu and four available commissary food packs were evaluated using NutritionCalc® Plus software (McGraw-Hill Education version 5.0.19) and compared to Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI).

Menu mean values of Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Vitamin C and zinc met DRI recommendations. However, Vitamin D (for men and women), magnesium (for men only) and omega-3s (for men only) did not meet the DRI recommendations.

As deficits of Vitamin D, magnesium and omega-3s are known to exacerbate bipolar disorder, anxiety and depression, small changes to food would increase the offerings and potential intake of nutrients that may improve mental health.

This paper determined sodium provisions from a seven-day cycle menu and commissary at a rural Southwest County jail and compared it to Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) recommendations for sodium.

A seven-day cycle menu and commissary items were used to determine sodium content for each meal and commissary pack. Estimates for the menu and commissary packs paired with the menu (commissary scenarios) were converted to a daily average of sodium and compared to DRI and DASH recommendations.

Menu provisions provided 167% of daily DRI sodium recommendations and 256% of daily DASH sodium recommendations. The sodium content for individual commissary scenarios averaged 218% of DRI and 334% of DASH recommendations. Commissary items are notably high in sodium and if eaten can significantly exceed dietary recommendations.

Small changes to one meal within the cycle menu and the inclusion of fresh or frozen produce could reduce sodium content to align with DRI and DASH recommendations.