title: Twelve-year trend in treatment seeking for buprenorphine abuse in Finland.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Buprenorphine abuse is becoming increasingly common worldwide. However, large-scale long-term studies of buprenorphine abuse are lacking. The objective of this study was to examine the trend in characteristics of clients seeking treatment for buprenorphine abuse and compare them to those seeking treatment for heroin and amphetamine abuse.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 12-year descriptive study was conducted at the Helsinki Deaconess Institute (HDI), a public utility foundation responsible for providing treatment for substance abuse in the greater Helsinki area. All clients seeking treatment between 31 January 1997 and 31 August 2008 received a structured clinical interview concerning demographic characteristics and abuse patterns. Characteristics of clients who reported that their primary drug of abuse was buprenorphine (n=780) were compared to those whose primary drug of abuse was either heroin (n=598) or amphetamine (n=1249).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The annual proportion of buprenorphine clients increased from 3.0% in 1998 to 38.4% in 2008. Daily abuse (73.8%) and intravenous administration (80.6%) were common among buprenorphine clients. Concurrent abuse of prescription medications (p<0.001), stimulants (p=0.001) and alcohol (p<0.001) increased from 1997 to 2008. Treatment seeking for heroin abuse declined to approximately 1% of clients annually after 2002. Buprenorphine clients were more likely to be daily users of their primary drug (p<0.001), abuse prescription medications (p<0.001) and administer drugs intravenously (p=0.001 from 1997 to 2001) compared to heroin and amphetamine clients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results highlight the increasing abuse of buprenorphine in Finland. Buprenorphine clients had risky abuse patterns in terms of daily use and intravenous administration. Concurrent substance abuse increased during the study period.
authors: School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, 70211 Kuopio, Finland. hanna.uosukainen@uef.fi
authors: Hanna
authors: H
authors: Uosukainen
authors: Jussi
authors: J
authors: Kauhanen
authors: Sari
authors: S
authors: Voutilainen
authors: Jaana
authors: J
authors: Föhr
authors: Mika
authors: M
authors: Paasolainen
authors: Jari
authors: J
authors: Tiihonen
authors: Kirsti
authors: K
authors: Laitinen
authors: Ifeoma N
authors: IN
authors: Onyeka
authors: J Simon
authors: JS
authors: Bell
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002047:Buprenorphine; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D058850:Opiate Substitution Treatment / Q000639:trends*; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002047:Buprenorphine