Comparison of the quality of life and general health in opium and non-opium users referred to the addiction treatment centers

ABSTRACT

Background

Substance dependent people are more likely to develop different disorders. This study aimed to compare the quality of life and general health between opium and non-opium users referred to addiction treatment centers in Iran.

Methods and materials

This cross-sectional study was carried out on 272 substance users (136 dependent people using opium and 136 dependent people using non-opium substance) referred to addiction treatment centers in Bojnourd. The data were analyzed through STATA version 12 using chi-square, independent t-test, correlation coefficient, and ANCOVA tests.

Results

The mean age of the opium and non-opium users was 43.35 and 43.88 years, respectively (p >0.05). Regarding marital status, there was a statistically significant difference between groups (p=0.002). There was a higher history of imprisonment in non-opium substance users group (p<0.001). Regarding general health, there were significantly different scores only in physical symptoms and depression (p <0.05). Only physical symptoms of GHQ28 between the two groups were significant, in which opium users had bad conditions (P=0.04).

Conclusion

The type of substance is related to the quality of life and mental health. Marital status and being imprisoned are contributing factors in mental health status and quality of life.

KEYWORDS:

• Quality of life
• general health
• substance users
• opium
• Iran

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all the patients who participated in this study. This study was approved by ethics committee of North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences (#IR.NKUMS.REC.1397.022) and supported by Norths Khorasan University of Medical Sciences.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.