Comparative patterns of cognitive performance amongst opioid maintenance patients, abstinent opioid users and non-opioid users.
BACKGROUND
To compare the cognitive performances of maintenance patients (MAIN), abstinent ex-users (ABST) and healthy non-heroin using controls (CON).


METHODS
Case control study of 125 MAIN (94 subjects maintained on methadone, 31 on buprenorphine), 50 ABST and 50 CON. Neuropsychological tests measuring executive function, working memory, information processing speed, verbal learning and non-verbal learning were administered.


RESULTS
There were no differences between the cognitive profiles of those maintained on methadone or buprenorphine on any administered test. After controlling for confounders, the MAIN group had poorer performance than controls in six of the 13 administered tests, and were poorer than the ABST group in five. The MAIN group exhibited poorer performance in the Haylings Sentence Completion, Matrix Reasoning, Digit Symbol, Logical Memory (immediate and delayed recall), and the Complex Figure Test (immediate recall). There were no differences between the ABST and CON groups on any of the administered tests.


CONCLUSIONS
Poorer cognitive performance, across a range of test and domains, was seen amongst maintenance patients, regardless of their maintenance drug. This is a group that is likely might benefit from approaches for managing individuals with cognitive and behavioural difficulties arising from brain dysfunction.
National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia. s.darke@unsw.edu.au
Shane
S
Darke
Skye
S
McDonald
Sharlene
S
Kaye
Michelle
M
Torok
D000328:Adult; D002047:Buprenorphine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000187:drug effects; D008691:Methadone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009294:Narcotics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D058850:Opiate Substitution Treatment / Q000523:psychology*; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D011581:Psychological Tests
D009294:Narcotics; D002047:Buprenorphine; D008691:Methadone