Patient characteristics affect treatment for opioid addiction

While many drugs, such as buprenorphine, are effective in treating opioid addiction, little is understood about what contributes to patients failing to continue treatment in the long term. In a study published in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, researchers evaluated characteristics of patients who stuck with a buprenorphine treatment program beyond the one-year point.

Researchers from Boston University (BU) evaluated 1,200 patients in the Office Based Opioid Treatment (OBOT) program over the course of 12 years to identify the certain characteristics that influenced their participation in their long-term treatment. The team looked at age, gender, race/ethnicity, education level, employment, infection with hepatitis C virus, co-morbid psychiatric conditions and prior or current use of drugs or alcohol to see if such variables influenced long-term treatment.

Results showed that participants that were older, female and had/or a co-morbid psychiatric diagnosis were more likely to continue treatment beyond one year. Participants who were black, Hispanic, unemployed and/or  had contracted hepatitis C had the lowest odds of maintaining treatment beyond one year.

"This study highlights some important disparities in treatment outcomes, especially racial/ethnic disparities in outcomes, which reflect a larger issue in medical care in general as well as in society at large," said lead author Zoe Weinstein, MD, assistant professor of medicine at BU.

By identifying these certain characteristics, clinicians have a better idea of which patients may need an extra hand in escaping opioid addiction. The authors suggest new treatment options for certain patients and impriving current treatment strategies could help fight the opioid epidemic.