The Impact of Methadone Maintenance Treatment on the Spread of HIV Among IV Heroin Addicts in Sweden

Hsu W-Y, Chiu N-Y, Liu J-T, Wang C-H, Chang T-G, Liao Y-C, Kuo P-I. Sleep quality in heroin addicts under methadone maintenance treatment.Background: Sleep disturbance is a common phenomenon among opiate addicts. The side effects of opiate addiction or opiate withdrawal might result in sleep disturbance. However, their problems might be related to sedative medication abuse, alcohol abuse or heroin relapse. Sleep is an important issue in this population.Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of sleep disorders in heroin addicts receiving methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) and analyse the correlation between related factors, such as age at opiate exposure, opiate exposure duration, duration in MMT, methadone current dosage, methadone attendance rate and the severity of sleep disorders.Method: We enrolled 121 heroin addicts who were receiving MMT. We collected data on the duration of insomnia, hypnotic history, Visual Analogue Scale-10 of sleep quality, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), methadone dosage, methadone history and opiate history.Results: The mean of the PSQI was 9.1 ± 5.4, and 70.2% of patients had PSQI scores >5, indicating they were poor sleepers. We also found the PSQI scores were correlated significantly with the methadone dosage.Conclusions: The sleep disturbance prevalence rate of opiate addicts under MMT was high in Taiwan, as shown in the previous studies, and the severity of sleep disturbance has been underestimated.

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Outpatient methadone maintenance treatment program Quality of life and health of opioid-dependent persons in Lithuania

Medicina ◽

10.3390/medicina43030029 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 43 (3) ◽

pp. 235 ◽

Cited By ~ 37

Author(s):

Žilvinas Padaiga ◽

Emilis Subata ◽

Giedrius Vanagas

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Methadone Maintenance Treatment ◽

Maintenance Treatment ◽

Methadone Maintenance ◽

Perceived Health ◽

Well Being ◽

Life Study ◽

Assess Quality ◽

The Impact

Background. The evaluation of quality of life and self-perceived health represents an assessment of the impact of treatment on patient functioning and well-being. Objective. Our aim was to explore the impact of methadone maintenance treatment on quality of life and self-perceived health of opioid-dependent persons in Lithuania. Methods. A total of 102 opioid-dependent patients were recruited in the study. A prospective follow-up study design was used. To assess quality of life, the WHOQOL-BREF 26-item version was used. The impact of methadone maintenance treatment on self-perceived health was assessed by Opiate Treatment Index (OTI). Results. Following 6 months of methadone maintenance treatment, significant improvements in physical (P=0.004), psychological (P=0.004), and environmental (P=0.048) components of quality of life were observed; no statistically significant improvements were found in social component of quality of life. Study participants reported lower rates of medical morbidity associated with injection (P<0.001), cardiorespiratory (P=0.034), musculoskeletal (P<0.001), neurological (P=0.013), gastrointestinal (P<0.001), and general health (P<0.001). Conclusions. Methadone maintenance treatment substantially reduces morbidity associated with opioid dependence and improves the quality of life of patients.

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