Prevalence of high impulsivity and its relation to sleep indices in opioid use disorder patients receiving methadone maintenance treatment.

BACKGROUND: The relation between impulsivity and sleep indices is not well determined in patients receiving methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). AIMS: to evaluate high impulsivity prevalence, its risk factors and relation with sleep indices. METHODS: a random MMT sample (n = 61) plus MMT current cocaine users (n = 20) were assessed for impulsivity (Barratt impulsivity scale [BIS-11] and Balloon Analogue Risk task [BART]), sleep quality (Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index [PSQI]), sleepiness (The Epworth sleepiness scale [ESS]), and substance in urine. RESULTS: 81 patients, aged 56.6 ± 10, 54.3% tested positive to any substance, 53.1% with poor sleep (PSQI>5) and 43.2% with daytime sleepiness (ESS >7) were studied. Impulsivity (BIS-11 ≥ 72) prevalence was 27.9% (of the representative sample), and 30.9% of all participants. These patients characterized with any substance and shorter duration in MMT with no sleep indices or other differences including BART balloon task performance (that was higher only in any substance than non-substance user group). However, impulsive score linearly correlated with daytime sleepiness (R = 0.2, p = 0.05). Impulsivity proportion was lowest among those with no cocaine followed by cocaine use and the highest in those who used cocaine and opiates (20.8%, 33.3% and 60% respectively, p = 0.02), as daily sleep (38.3%, 42.1% and 60%, p = 0.3) although not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Daytime sleepiness correlated with impulsivity, but cocaine usage is the robust factor. Further follow-up is warranted to determine whether substance discontinuing will lead to a reduction in impulsivity, and improved vigilance. Sleep quality did not relate to daytime sleepiness and impulsivity and need further research.

DRD2 TaqIA polymorphism-related functional connectivity between anterior insula and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex predicts the retention time in heroin-dependent individuals under methadone maintenance treatment.

BACKGROUND: Dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) TaqIA polymorphism has an influence on addiction treatment response and prognosis by mediating brain dopaminergic system efficacy. Insula is crucial for conscious urges to take drugs and maintain drug use. However, it remains unclear about the contribution of DRD2 TaqIA polymorphism to the regulation of insular on addiction behavioral and its relation with the therapeutic effect of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). METHODS: 57 male former heroin dependents receiving stable MMT and 49 matched male healthy controls (HC) were enrolled. Salivary genotyping for DRD2 TaqA1 and A2 alleles, brain resting-state functional MRI scan and a 24-month follow-up for collecting illegal-drug-use information was conducted and followed by clustering of functional connectivity (FC) patterns of HC insula, insula subregion parcellation of MMT patients, comparing the whole brain FC maps between the A1 carriers and non-carriers and analyzing the correlation between the genotype-related FC of insula sub-regions with the retention time in MMT patients by Cox regression. RESULTS: Two insula subregions were identified: the anterior insula (AI) and the posterior insula (PI) subregion. The A1 carriers had a reduced FC between the left AI and the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) relative to no carriers. And this reduced FC was a poor prognostic factor for the retention time in MMT patients. CONCLUSION: DRD2 TaqIA polymorphism affects the retention time in heroin-dependent individuals under MMT by mediating the functional connectivity strength between left AI and right dlPFC, and the two brain regions are promising therapeutic targets for individualized treatment.

Glymphatic-System Function Is Associated with Addiction and Relapse in Heroin Dependents Undergoing Methadone Maintenance Treatment.

This study investigates the impact of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) on the brain glymphatic system (GS) in opioid addiction in China. A total of 51 male MMT patients, 48 demographically matched healthy controls (HCs), and 20 heroin dependents (HDs) were recruited for this study. The GS functioning was assessed using diffusion-tensor-imaging analysis along perivascular spaces (DTI-ALPS index) and the bilateral ALPS divergency (DivALPS). Group differences were analyzed utilizing ANOVA and two-sample t-tests. The relationship between DivALPS and relapse rate was explored using regression analysis. The DTI-ALPS index was significantly higher for the left-side brain than the right side in all three groups. There was a significant difference for the right side (p = 0.0098) between the groups. The MMT and HD groups showed significantly higher DTI-ALPS than the HC group (p = 0.018 and 0.016, respectively). The DivALPS varied significantly among the three groups (p = 0.04), with the HD group showing the lowest and the HC group the highest values. Significant negative relationships were found between relapse count, DivALPS (p < 0.0001, Exp(B) = 0.6047), and age (p < 0.0001, Exp(B) = 0.9142). The findings suggest that MMT may contribute to promoting brain GS recovery in heroin addicts, and modulation of the GS may serve as a potential biomarker for relapse risk, providing insights into novel therapeutic strategies.

The rising threat of illicit amphetamine-type stimulant use among methadone maintenance treatment patients in East Coast Malaysia: a retrospective observational study.

Background: In recent years, amphetamine-type-stimulants (ATS) have been extensively misused in South-East Asia, inducing major problems among methadone-maintenance-treatment (MMT) patients.Objective: We examine ATS-misuse prevalence and its determinants among MMT patients in East-Coast-Malaysia.Methods: A retrospective-observational study was conducted on government-subsidized medication for opioid-use-disorder (MOUD) treatment clinics involving 292 MMT-patients (98% males) who were selected using a multilevel-proportional-stratified random sampling technique. Information obtained during the mandatory monitoring procedure from January 1 to December 31 2019, was utilized to determine ATS misuse prevalence from consecutive random urine drug screening. The determinants associated with its use, namely sociodemographics, social networks, comorbidities, and pharmacological assessments were analyzed via a logistic model.Results: Overall, 52.2% of the MMT-patients (95% CI: 0.42-0.54) had misused ATS at least once during their methadone treatment. These misusing patients were active smokers, hepatitis B and C seronegative, concurrently misused opioids, and had received suboptimum prescribed doses of methadone. Multiple logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the odds of misusing ATS during methadone treatment were 37 times higher among those who concurrently misused opioids (AOR: 37.60, 95% CI: 14.03-100.74) and 12 times higher among those who received suboptimal methadone doses (<60 mg/day) (AOR: 12.24, 95% CI: 5.58-25.43).Conclusion: This study demonstrated the significant prevalence of ATS misuse among MMT-patients in East-Coast-Malaysia, especially among patients who were prescribed suboptimal doses of methadone and/or demonstrated concomitant opioid-misuse. Stringent urine-monitoring is crucial to prevent diversion to ATS misuse. Nonetheless, to avoid negligence and improve physician engagement, the relevant authorities should immediately plan a comprehensive national-standard training module comprising support activities for professional methadone-prescribers.

"It's like 'liquid handcuffs": The effects of take-home dosing policies on Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) patients' lives.

BACKGROUND: Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) is widely recognized as one of the most effective ways of reducing risk of overdose, arrest, and transmission of blood-borne viruses like HIV and HCV among people that use opioids. Yet, MMT's use of restrictive take-home dose policies that force most patients to attend their clinic on a daily, or near-daily, basis may be unpopular with many patients and lead to low rates of treatment uptake and retention. In response, this article examines how clinics' take-home dosing policies have affected patients' experiences of treatment and lives in general. METHODS: This article is based on semi-structured, qualitative interviews with a variety of stakeholders in MMT. Interviews explored: reasons for engaging with, or not engaging with MMT; how MMT is conceptualized by patients and treatment providers (e.g., as harm reduction or route to abstinence and/or recovery); experiences with MMT; perception of barriers to MMT (e.g., organizational/regulatory, social) and how MMT might be improved to support peoples' substance use treatment needs and goals. RESULTS: Nearly all of the patients with past or present MMT use were highly critical of the limited access to take-home doses and consequent need for daily or near daily clinic attendance. Participants described how the use of restrictive take-home dose policies negatively impacted their ability to meet day-to-day responsibilities and also cited the need for daily attendance as a reason for quitting or avoiding OAT. Responses also demonstrate how such policies contribute to an environment of cruelty and stigma within many clinics that exposes this already-stigmatized population to additional trauma. CONCLUSIONS: Take-home dose policies in MMT are not working for a substantial number of patients and are reasonably seen by participants as degrading and dehumanizing. Revision of MMT regulations and policies regarding take home doses are essential to improve patient satisfaction and the quality and effectiveness of MMT as a key evidence-based treatment and harm reduction strategy.

"I'm pretty sure it's either food poisoning or Covid-19": Lived experience versus medical knowledge in diagnosing substance use problems.

People who use drugs, or who have in the past, often report that doctors and/or treatment providers devalue, or are unwilling to believe their claims in regards to substance use issues, in particular the presence and severity of withdrawal. In the case of benzodiazepine withdrawal this can not only lead to significant discomfort, frustration, and trauma for patients, but can lead to serious medical problems. This commentary uses the authors' recent first-person experience with a disbelieving doctor in order to illustrate the lack of value often given to the claims and narratives of people with lived substance use experience. I outline some of the potential problems with this approach, including the effects on patients themselves and the loss of an important source of evidence-based knowledge. It also discusses potential risks associated with the recent increase in benzodiazepine prescription due to Covid-19 and offers suggestions for improving treatment outcomes.

Differences in cue-induced brain activation between long-term methadone maintenance treatment and protracted abstinence in heroin use disorder patients: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

BACKGROUND: Heroin use disorder (HUD) remains one of the gravest public health issues in China. Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) and protracted abstinence (PA) are the most commonly used treatments for HUD. Although both treatment approaches can alleviate heroin cravings, a previous study found that MMT patients had stronger cue-induced brain activation than patients undergoing PA; however, the changes associated with long-term treatment are unclear. METHODS: Male patients with HUD who had been undergoing either PA (n=24) or MTT (n=21) for approximately 12 months, together with 20 demographically matched healthy controls, completed an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) task. The subjective craving for heroin was evaluated using a visual analog scale. RESULTS: Compared to the healthy controls, the MMT and PA groups demonstrated significantly higher brain activation in the left pallidum, middle occipital gyrus, postcentral gyrus, anterior cingulate cortex, middle cingulate cortex, inferior parietal lobule, superior parietal lobule, amygdala, hippocampus, right inferior temporal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus triangularis, and caudate during exposure to heroin-related cues. Compared to those undergoing PA, patients in the MMT group demonstrated significantly higher brain activation in all of these regions. Except for the left inferior parietal lobule and left superior parietal lobule, there were no statistically significant differences between the PA and healthy control groups. The MMT patients showed significantly higher subjective cravings before and after exposure to heroin cues than the PA group, but there was no significant difference in the change in subjective cravings between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that although the HUD patients receiving long-term MMT complied with the treatment, they still had higher subjective cravings and cue-induced brain activation than those undergoing PA. Therefore, long-term PA appears to be more beneficial than MMT in reducing the salience value of drug cues in patients with HUD.

A chance to do it better: Methadone maintenance treatment in the age of Covid-19.

Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) in the United States, and particularly the clinic system of distribution, is often criticized as punitive, over-regulated, and misaligned to the needs of many patients. However, changes to the regulations that COVID-19 caused may have provided an opportunity for improving service. This commentary uses literature and my own experience to provide a brief description of how MMT programs responded to the threat of Covid-19 and how such responses fit into the larger context of attempts to reform treatment. It discusses, in particular, opportunities for liberalizing "take-home" doses and implementing office-based MMT.

Augmentation in Healthcare Utilization of Patients with Opioid Use Disorder After Methadone Maintenance Treatment: A Retrospective Nationwide Study.

INTRODUCTION: The health benefits of entering methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) for opioid-dependent persons may not be merely limited to therapy of opioid use disorder. We aimed to compare the healthcare utilization of MMT patients before and after MMT. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed using the Taiwan Illicit Drug Issue Database and the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) between 2014 and 2016. We included 1255 newly enrolled MMT patients in 2015 and randomly selected 5020 patients from NHIRD matched by age and gender as the comparison group. Changes in healthcare utilization 1 year before and 1 year after the date of the index date (MMT initiation) were compared within and between MMT and comparison groups. RESULTS: During the 1-year period following MMT, the hospitalization length was considerably decreased, while the number of outpatient visits, emergency department (ED) visits, and ED expenditure significantly increased in MMT patients. Multivariable linear regression with the difference-in-difference approach revealed that all the categories of healthcare utilization increased, except for a minor increase of outpatient expenditure and a slight decrease of hospitalization length for the MMT group relative to the comparison group. Increases in utilization of the departments of psychiatry and infectious diseases of the MMT patients were considerable. CONCLUSION: MMT is associated with increased healthcare utilization, and departments of psychiatry and infectious diseases play substantial roles. Policy-makers should warrant access for all who need healthcare by ensuring the availability of the treatment for drug dependence.

Altered brain intrinsic functional hubs and connectivity associated with relapse risk in heroin dependents undergoing methadone maintenance treatment: A resting-state fMRI study.

BACKGROUND: The neural substrates underlying the relapse behavior of heroin dependents (HD) who received long-term methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) have yet to be thoroughly expounded. This study investigated the relapse-related intrinsic functional hubs of HD and their functional integration feature at whole brain network level. METHODS: 57 male HD receiving MMT and 49 matched healthy controls (HC) were enrolled. All of the subjects received resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. And the 57 patients were assigned a 26-month follow-up for collecting illegal drug use information. Of them, 11 were non-relapsers and 46 relapsers. We analyzed the voxel-based degree centrality (DC) to reveal the differences in nodule centrality between HD and HC, conducted Pearson partial-correlation analysis to confirm the relationship between relapse frequency and DC value of the nodes with significant intergroup differences, and finally compared the functional connectivity (FC) of the relapse-related hubs between non-relapsers and relapsers. RESULTS: We found the DC values of right insula and left nucleus accumbens (NAc) were negatively correlated with relapse frequency. Compared with the non-relapsers, the relapsers had a significant decreased FC between left NAc and inhibitory control circuitry, including left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, left inferior frontal gyrus and motor regions. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the neural substrates of relapse vulnerability in HD undergoing MMT are the intrinsic functional hubs of introceptive and reward systems and the latter modulates relapse behavior via interaction with inhibitory control circuit.

Improvement in Cognitive Performance after One Year of Methadone Maintenance Treatment.

Individuals with substance use disorders are known to suffer from stress, poor sleep, and cognitive impairment. We investigated whether individuals with opioid use disorder would improve cognitive performance following a year of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and a standardized computerized cognitive battery were administered at admission (T0) to 29 patients, and repeatedly following one year of MMT (T1) by 19 patients. Admission measures did not differ between those who studied once or twice. Patients who perceived very high stress levels (PSS ≥24) at T0 (11, 37.9%) had lower computerized global cognitive scores (67.6±16.2 vs. 90.9±12.5 p≤0.0005). At T1, PSS and PSQI scores improved significantly among 11 patients with no substance abuse, but worsened among 8 with substance abuse (PSS p(interaction)=0.009, p(groups)=0.005, PSQI p(interaction)=0.01, p(groups)=0.04). Global cognitive score improved at T1 for the entire sample (81.8±20.1 to 89.2±13.8, p=0.05). Differentiation by high stress at T0 or by substance abuse at T1 subgroups showed that improvement was observed by those with very low cognitive scores at T0. Patients with poor cognition may improve following one year of MMT, due to stress and substance abuse reduction. Interventions for stress reduction are recommended.

Methadone maintenance treatment is swapping one drug for another, and that's why it works: Towards a treatment-based critique of the war on drugs.

The claim that methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) is 'just swapping one drug for another' has typically been used to de-legitimize the treatment and attack those who use it. However, this commentary re-positions that argument as a way of bringing analytic focus to the role of structural forces, like criminalization and the war on drugs, in the treatment decisions of people who use illegal drugs. Specifically, I use my experience as a qualitative sociologist who studies MMT as well as my own experience on MMT to demonstrate how criminalization functions as source of harm in the lives of people who use illegal drugs, that drives them towards the legal, and thus comparatively safer, style of substance use made available by MMT. Moreover, I argue that the dominance of individually-focused theories based on addiction and recovery to understand MMT is related to its punitive organizational structure and lack of popularity among people who use illegal opioids. Ultimately, I argue for a paradigm shift, both in policy and scholarship, that acknowledges the pragmatic value of MMT within the structural context of criminalization.

Investigation on alcohol use among the patients with methadone maintenance treatment in Shanghai / 上海交通大学学报（医学版）

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of alcohol use and related influencing factors among the patients with methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) in Shanghai, and to provide information for the alcohol intervention in the future. Methods: A total of 837 MMT patients were investigated and evaluated by General Situation Questionnaire, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, General Well-being Schedule. According to whether drinking or not in the past year, the two groups were divided into the non-drinking group and the drinking group. T-test, Chi-square test and multivariate Logistic regression analysis were used to detected between two groups. Results: 30.9% of the patients had drinking behavior in the past year, 13.8% of them had problem drinking behavior. The main factors affecting patients' drinking behavior were sex (P=0.029), age of first drug use (P=0.005), drinking before taking heroin (P=0.000) and drinking when taking heroin (P=0.000). Conclusion: In Shanghai, alcohol consumption is generally prevalent among MMT patients who lack awareness of the dangerous of drinking. In the future, targeted intervention measures should be taken to reduce the harm of drinking among MMT patients.

Acute effects of methadone on EEG power spectrum and event-related potentials among heroin dependents.

Methadone as the most prevalent opioid substitution medication has been shown to influence the neurophysiological functions among heroin addicts. However, there is no firm conclusion on acute neuroelectrophysiological changes among methadone-treated subjects as well as the effectiveness of methadone in restoring brain electrical abnormalities among heroin addicts. This study aims to investigate the acute and short-term effects of methadone administration on the brain's electrophysiological properties before and after daily methadone intake over 10 weeks of treatment among heroin addicts. EEG spectral analysis and single-trial event-related potential (ERP) measurements were used to investigate possible alterations in the brain's electrical activities, as well as the cognitive attributes associated with MMN and P3. The results confirmed abnormal brain activities predominantly in the beta band and diminished information processing ability including lower amplitude and prolonged latency of cognitive responses among heroin addicts compared to healthy controls. In addition, the alteration of EEG activities in the frontal and central regions was found to be associated with the withdrawal symptoms of drug users. Certain brain regions were found to be influenced significantly by methadone intake; acute effects of methadone induction appeared to be associative to its dosage. The findings suggest that methadone administration affects cognitive performance and activates the cortical neuronal networks, resulting in cognitive responses enhancement which may be influential in reorganizing cognitive dysfunctions among heroin addicts. This study also supports the notion that the brain's oscillation powers and ERPs can be utilized as neurophysiological indices for assessing the addiction treatment traits.

Pregabalin misuse in methadone maintenance treatment patients in Israel: Prevalence and risk factors.

BACKGROUND: Drug users reportedly abuse pregabalin, and its combination with opiates was related to fatalities. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of pregabalin misuse and risk factors among patients in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). METHODS: A cross-sectional study included all current MMT patients (n = 300) after excluding 9 with prescriptions, from a large tertiary medical center university-affiliated MMT clinic in Israel. Pregabalin was tested in one of the routine urine tests for other substances in December 2017. Data on urine results and patients' characteristics were retrieved from the patients' records. RESULTS: Pregabalin was detected among 53 (17.7%) patients. The group had higher depressive symptoms severity score (21-HAM-D) (11.1 ±â€¯8.4 vs. 8.3 ±â€¯7.8, p = 0.03), a higher prevalence of sero-positive HIV (13.7% vs. 4.2%, p = 0.02), sero-positive hepatitis C (66.7% vs. 50.4%, p = 0.04), DSM-IV-TR Axis I psychiatric diagnosis (54.0% vs. 41.7%, p = 0.03), and positive urine for opiates (22.6% vs. 8.9%, p = 0.008), cannabis (39.6% vs. 4.0 p < 0.0005) benzodiazepine (BDZ) (77.4% vs. 18.2%, p < 0.0005) and oxycodone (11.3% vs. 0.4%, p < 0.0005). Logistic regression found pregabalin group as more likely to be urine positive to BDZ (OR = 12.8 95%CI 5.0-32.5) cannabis (OR = 22.7, 95%CI 6.3-81.6) and oxycodone (OR = 43.9, 95%CI 3.6-541.4), with higher 21-HAM-D scores (OR = 1.1, 95%CI 1.04-1.2) and hepatitis C sera-positive (OR = 4.1, 95% CI 1.5-11.4). Unexpectedly, 13.2% of the pregabalin group had take-home dose privileges, which are rewards to non-drug abusers. CONCLUSIONS: High prevalence of pregabalin misuse among both BDZ abusers and non-abusers and patients with depressive symptoms supports both the inclusion of routine monitoring for pregabalin and intervention in MMT population.

"I Was Not Sick and I Didn't Need to Recover": Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) as a Refuge from Criminalization.

BACKGROUND: Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) in the United States (U.S.) has been undergoing a shift towards conceptualizing the program as recovery-based treatment. Although recovery is seen by some as a means to restore MMT to its rightful position as a medically-based treatment for addiction, it may not represent the experiences, or meet the needs of people who use drugs (PWUD), many of whom who use the program as a pragmatic means of reducing harms associated with criminalization. OBJECTIVES: To examine alternative constructions of MMT in order to produce a richer, more contextualized picture of the program and the reasons PWUD employ its services. METHODS: This paper uses semi-structured interviews with 23 people on MMT (either currently or within the previous two years). RESULTS: Most participants linked their use of MMT to the structural-legal context of prohibition/criminalization rather than through the narrative of the recovery model. Responses suggested the recovery model functions in part to obscure the role of criminalization in the harms PWUD experience in favor of a model based on individual pathology. Conclusions/Importance: In contrast to the recovery model, MMT cannot be understood outside of the structural context of criminalization and the War on Drugs which shape illegal drug use as a difficult and dangerous activity, and consequently position MMT as a way to moderate or escape from those harms.

Positive percentages of urine morphine tests among methadone maintenance treatment clients with HIV/AIDS: a 12-month follow-up study in Guangdong Province, China.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to assess the positive percentages of urine morphine tests and correlates among methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) clients with HIV/AIDS in Guangdong, China. SETTING: Fourteen MMT clinics located in nine cities of Guangdong were chosen as study sites. PARTICIPANTS: In this study, we reviewed 293 clients with opioid dependence, who were HIV seropositive, 18 years or older, provided informed consent and had at least 10 records of urine morphine tests during the study period. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The positive percentages of urine morphine tests were calculated and underlying predictors were estimated. RESULTS: The highest positive percentage (95.9%) was observed in the first month. After excluding the highest percentage in the first month, the average positive percentage was 40.9% for month 2 to month 12. Positive percentages of urine morphine tests that were <20%, 20-60% and >80% were 25.4%, 36.1% and 38.5% respectively. Lower percentages of continued heroin use were associated with being young (OR≤30=0.31, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.78; OR31-=0.44, 95% CI 0.20 to 1.00), and financial sources depending on family or friends (OR=0.55, 95% CI 0.32 to 0.93). Higher percentages of continued heroin use were associated with being unemployed (OR=1.99, 95% CI 1.13 to 3.49) and poor MMT attendance (OR<20%=3.60, 95% CI 1.55 to 8.33; OR20%-=2.80, 95% CI 1.48 to 5.33). CONCLUSIONS: High positive percentages of urine morphine tests remain prevalent among MMT clients with HIV/AIDS in Guangdong. The present findings have implications for taking effective measures to facilitate attendance in order to decrease heroin use and ultimately improve the effectiveness among these sub-group MMT clients.

Tobacco and alcohol use among drug users receiving methadone maintenance treatment: a cross-sectional study in a rural prefecture of Yunnan Province, Southwest China.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of ever, current and heavy tobacco and alcohol use and their correlates among patients undergoing methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: The study was conducted in all of the 5 MMT clinics in Dehong Prefecture, China. PARTICIPANTS: 2121 (81.6%) eligible MMT participants were included in the study population. ANALYSIS: Ordinal logistic regression was used to estimate the ORs and their 95% CIs. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of ever, current and heavy smoking was 98.6%, 97.8% and 66.3%, respectively; while that of ever, current and hazardous alcohol drinking was 86.6%, 58.6% and 16.6%, respectively. Among HIV-infected participants, the proportions of those experiencing harmful effects of tobacco and alcohol on AIDS were 53.6% and 72.5%, respectively, and 16.9% and 49.3% had ever tried to quit after diagnosis with HIV. After adjusting for potential confounders, heavier smokers and more hazardous drinkers were more likely to be men, older and less educated. Ethnic minorities were less likely to heavily smoke, but more likely to engage in hazardous drinking. In addition, hazardous drinking was negatively associated with longer years of MMT and HIV infection. Moreover, heavier smoking (OR≥2=2.08, 95% CI 1.16 to 3.73) and more hazardous drinking (OR≥2=2.46, 95% CI 1.53 to 3.97) were positively associated with having multiple sexual partners, and both were positively associated with each other. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of tobacco and alcohol consumption was extraordinarily high among MMT participants in China, suggesting the urgent need of enhancing MMT patients' awareness of the harmful effects of tobacco and alcohol consumption and implementing comprehensive education and effective intervention programmes.

Re-entry and related predictors among HIV-infected clients receiving methadone maintenance treatment in Guangdong province, China.

This study examined the re-entry characteristics and related predictors among HIV-infected methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) clients in Guangdong, China. Data on HIV-infected MMT clients was obtained from the clinic MMT registration system in Guangdong. Of the 653 participants, only 9.0% remained in the MMT program until the end of the study. For the drop-outs, 70.0% returned to MMT at least once by the end of the study. Re-entry was independently associated with marital status (ORnever married = 2.24, 95% CI: 1.02-4.93; ORmarried currently = 2.34, 95% CI: 1.05-5.22), being unemployed (OR = 1.92, 95% CI: 1.12-3.27), lower positive percentages of urine tests (OR<40% = 4.08, 95% CI: 2.21-7.54; OR40%-80% = 2.52, 95% CI: 1.39-4.56), higher maintenance doses (OR = 3.78, 95% CI: 2.21-7.54)and poorer MMT attendance percentages (OR<20% = 282.02, 95% CI: 62.75-1268.11; OR20-49% = 20.75, 95% CI: 10.52-40.93; OR50-79% = 6.07, 95% CI: 3.44-10.73). A higher re-entry frequency was independently associated with lower education level (ORjunior high school = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.26-0.93), average drug use times less than twice (OR = 0.64, 95% CI: 0.41-1.00), lower positive percentages of urine tests (OR = 0.39, 95% CI: 0.22-0.70) and poorer percentages of MMT attendance (OR<20% = 7.24, 95% CI: 2.99-17.55; OR20-49% = 14.30, 95% CI: 5.94-34.42; OR50-79% = 6.15, 95% CI: 2.55-14.85). Re-entry and repeated re-entry were prevalent among HIV-infected MMT clients in Guangdong, underscoring the urgent needs of tailored interventions and health education programs for this population.

Concurrent Heroin Use and Correlates among Methadone Maintenance Treatment Clients: A 12-Month Follow-up Study in Guangdong Province, China.

OBJECTIVE: To assess concurrent heroin use and correlates among Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) clients in Guangdong Province, China. METHOD: Demographic and drug use data were collected with a structured questionnaire, and MMT information was obtained from the MMT clinic registration system in Guangdong. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected status and urine morphine results were obtained from laboratory tests. Logistic regressions were employed to investigate the factors associated with concurrent heroin use. RESULTS: Among the 6848 participants, 75% continued using heroin more than once during the first 12 months after treatment initiation. Concurrent heroin use was associated with inharmonious family relationship (OR (odds ratio) = 1.49, 95% CI (confidence intervals): 1.24-1.78), HIV positivity (OR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.01-1.55), having multiple sex partners (OR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.07-1.69), having ever taken intravenous drugs (OR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.69-0.95), higher maintenance dose (OR = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.01-1.28) and poorer MMT attendance (OR < 20% = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.13-1.53; OR 20%- = 1.33, 95% CI: 1.14-1.54; OR 50%- = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.44-2.00). Among those who used heroin concurrently, the same factors, and additionally being older (OR 35- = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.11-1.43; OR ≥ 45 = 1.63, 95% CI: 1.30-2.05) and female (OR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.28-2.00), contribute to a greater frequency of heroin use. CONCLUSIONS: Concurrent heroin use was prevalent among MMT participants in Guangdong, underscoring the urgent needs for tailored interventions and health education programs for this population.