Spirituality, Religiosity, Depression, Anxiety, and Drug-Use Consequences During Methadone Maintenance Therapy.

West J Nurs Res. 2013 Feb 27;
Piacentine LB

Substance addiction is damaging to the health of persons, families, and society. Often the person with addiction has decreased spirituality and religiosity and suffers from anxiety, depression, or both, increasing the risk for continued substance use and its concomitant negative consequences. The study purpose was to describe spirituality and religiosity, among persons enrolled in methadone maintenance therapy and to examine associations between spirituality, religiosity, anxiety, depression, and drug-use consequences. Using a descriptive and cross-sectional correlational design, 108 participants completed questionnaires assessing the study variables. Spiritual well-being was similar to other addiction samples and lower than healthy person samples. Most participants described themselves as spiritual or religious though religious participation was lower than in their past. The analysis indicated that spirituality, religiosity, depression, anxiety, and negative drug-use consequences are interrelated in the person with addiction. Higher anxiety was predictive of negative drug-use consequences.
HubMed – Methadone

Isolating Cognitive and Neurologic HIV Effects in Substance-Dependent, Confounded Cohorts: A Pilot Study.

J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2013 Feb 28; 1-11
Byrd DA, Robinson-Papp J, Mindt MR, Mintz L, Elliott K, Lighty Q, Morgello S

Controversy exists as to whether effects of HIV infection can be detected in the cognitive profiles of substance users, with methodological differences in degree of control for confounding factors a major contributor to empirical discrepancies. To address this shortcoming, we conducted a small but well-controlled study aimed at isolating HIV neurocognitive (NC) effects in a group of chronic substance users. Thirty HIV-negative substance users were individually matched to 30 HIV-positive substance users on relevant medical and demographic factors, including reading level and methadone therapy status. Results revealed that reading level, methadone maintenance therapy, and positive urine toxicology each exerted significant influence on NC function, and that HIV status was a significant predictor of learning and speeded processing after these control factors were considered. The HIV-positive group also displayed significantly more neurologically assessed motor impairment (p < .05), which was specifically related to impaired cognition in this group and independent of degree of immunocompromise. These data demonstrate the need for increased attention to clinical/demographic characteristics of groups under study. They also show that with applied methodological rigor, the deleterious effects of HIV on cognition can be parsed from substance use, even in small samples with chronic and active use histories. (JINS, 2013, 19, 1-11). HubMed – Methadone

Risk Factors of Erectile Dysfunction in Patients Receiving Methadone Maintenance Therapy.

J Sex Med. 2013 Feb 27;
Nik Jaafar NR, Mislan N, Abdul Aziz S, Baharudin A, Ibrahim N, Midin M, Das S, Sidi H

INTRODUCTION: While methadone effectively treats opiate dependence, the side effect of erectile dysfunction (ED) may interfere with treatment adherence and benefits. AIM: To determine the rate of ED and the associated factors which predict ED in male patients on methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) in a Malaysian population. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The main outcome measures were the International Index of Erectile Function-15 (IIEF-15) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). METHODS: A total of 108 participants diagnosed with heroin dependence were assessed. We used the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis-I Disorders (SCID-I) on subjects who received MMT, and they were assessed using the IIEF-15, the BDI, and measures of other clinical and sociodemographic variables. RESULTS: The rate of ED among men on MMT was 68.5% (mild ED, 36.1%; mild to moderate ED, 22.2%; severe ED, 3.7%). The mean age of the participants was 43.45 years. Older age (P?=?0.002), concurrent illicit heroin use (P?=?0.024), and having an older partner (P?=?0.039) were significantly associated with ED. Following multivariate analysis, it was found that older age was the only significant predictor of ED, with an adjusted odds ratio of 1.07 (95% CI?=?1.02-1.16). Methadone dose and duration of methadone treatment were not significantly associated with ED. CONCLUSION: ED was highly prevalent among male patients on MMT. This suggests that there is a need for routine assessment of sexual function in patients on methadone. Among the risk factors, age was the only factor that was significantly associated with ED. The current use of MMT in Malaysia in terms of dosage and duration did not pose a significant risk for ED.
HubMed – Methadone

Find More Methadone Detox Information…

Comments are closed.