The effects of anxiety on relapse of patients with opioid use disorders under methadone maintenance treatment: control of the confounding variables

ABSTRACT

The current study has been carried out in order to investigate the effects of anxiety on the relapse of patients with opioid use disorders (OUDs) under methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). In this cross-sectional study, 2676 patients with OUDs, referred to MMT centers of Kermanshah from 2005 to 2017 were entered into the study. In order to evaluate the level of anxiety, Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) was used. The results showed that after controlling the role of other influential variables, the age of onset of substance use has significant effect on relapse, but there were no significance relationship between gender, age of quit, income, marital status, and education level with relapse. With the increase in anxiety score, the odds of relapse increased, so that people who had severe anxiety 3.43 (2.58 – 4.55) times greater relapse than those with a low level of anxiety. Nonlinear diagram showed that the highest increase in the odds of relapse was among those who had an anxiety score of 7 to 25 and then, with a moderate slope, the odds likelihood of relapse increased. Considering the effects of anxiety on relapse, it is recommended that health-care programs in all MMT centers need to have more focus in order to address anxiety among patients, in a more effective way.

KEYWORDS:

• Opioid use disorders
• anxiety
• relapse
• methadone maintenance treatment

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Substance abuse prevention research center and clinical Research Development Unit (CRDU) of Emam Khomeini Hospital, university of Medical sciences, Kermanshah, Iran for their support, cooperation and assistance throughout the period of study (Grant number: 92472).

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

The authors report no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Additional information

Funding

This article is the result of the findings of the research project 92472 that was approved and financed Vice Chancellor for research and Research and Technology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, IranKermanshah University of Medical Sciences [92472].