Quality of life and its associated factors among patients with substance use disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT

Background

This study aimed to describe the quality of life (QoL) in patients with substance use disorder (SUD) and investigate factors associated with general QoL among patients with SUD.

Methods

Studies in English published before December 1^st, 2021, were searched for on PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, and Web of Science to identify primary studies on the factors associated with general QoL in patients with SUD. After reviewing for study duplicates, the full-texts of selected papers were assessed for eligibility using PECO criteria.

Results

After a detailed assessment of over 10,230 papers, a total of 20 studies met the eligibility criteria. The current research analyzed various relationships between sociodemographic features, clinical, the type of used drug, service use utilizations, and general QoL in patients with SUD. The odds of having a good general QoL were reduced among patients with common and severe mental disorders, alcohol use disorders (AUD), and receiving inpatient care; however, a better general QoL was observed among those receiving methadone maintenance treatment (MMT).

Conclusions

Healthcare staff are recommended to pay high attention to the general QoL of patients with SUD seeking interventions. In addition, it is suggested that policymakers address substance use disorders when designing national guidelines and programs.

Abbreviations

QoL: Quality of life; SUD: Substance Use Disorder; AUD: Alcohol use disorders; PRISMA: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses; PECO: Participants, Exposures, Comparison, Outcomes; ORs: Odds Ratios; NOS: Newcastle Ottawa scale; CI: Confidence intervals; MMT:Methadone maintenance treatment; DSM-IV: Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders-fourth edition.

KEYWORDS:

• Substance use disorder
• quality of life
• alcohol use disorders
• inpatient care

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study was an analysis of preexisting literature and did not use human subjects.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

BA and BA. Conceived the study BA. collected all data. RM, and BA analyzed and interpreted the data. BA, AHB EA and YF. drafted the manuscript. All authors commented on the drafts of the manuscript and approved the final copy of the paper for submission.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or non-for-profit sectors.