Viral and Psychiatric Disorders in Methadone Maintenance Therapy (MMT) Clients

Abstract

Background: Methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) is currently widely accepted as the treatment of choice for opioid replacement therapy. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of HBV, HCV, and HIV infections as well as psychiatric disorders in our MMT cases. Patients and Methods: Using a cross-sectional study design, we studied patients treated for opioid abuse or addiction who attended MMT programs in Rafsanjan, Iran, from March to June 2012. HIV, HBV, and HCV test reports were recorded from MMT clients' documents (ELISA and Western blotting results), and psychiatric disorders were diagnosed by two trained psychology interviewers according to the DSM-IV criteria. Results: Of the 1,825 patients included in this study, 1,737 (95.2%) were men with a mean age of 28.00 ± 7.69 years (range: 18-52 years). In total, 64 (3.5%) subjects showed symptoms of depression and 21 (1.2%) had anxiety. The prevalence of HBV, HCV, and HIV were 4 (0.2%), 31 (1.7%), and 18 (1.0%), respectively. The association between psychiatric disorders and chronic diseases did not reach a statistically significant level (Fisher's exact test, P = 0.193). Conclusions: The prevalence of HBV, HIV, and psychiatric disorders in our study group was lower than in previous reports. This may be because we entered participants from private MMT centers. Therefore, our results are not generalizable to other populations. Nevertheless, HCV prevalence was higher, and our results lead us to recommend that training programs be planned to prevent the outbreak of these viral infections.

The Effects of Probiotic Supplementation on Opioid-Related Disorder in Patients under Methadone Maintenance Treatment Programs

“…So, gut microbial diversity might be shaped by addiction-associated behaviors and these can function as biological indicators to evaluate the health of people with a history of drug use. Also, disturbances in mental health parameters and metabolic profiles have previously been documented in opioid users and patients receiving MMTPs [ 7 , 44 ]. This evidence suggested a potential link involving the gut microbiota, metabolism, and psychological factors that warrant consideration therapeutically.…”

Methadone Maintenance Therapy (MMT) Clients Should Be More Noticed for Hepatitis C Elimination in Iran

“…We read an interesting article by Abousaidi et al recently published in Thrita Journal in which they found 1.7% hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected patients among their study participants (1).…”