title: Club drugs and alcohol abuse predicted dropout and poor adherence among methadone maintenance treatment patients in Guangzhou, China.
abstract: Club drugs and alcohol abuse are prevalent among methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) patients. However, little is known about the association between these abuse and treatment outcomes among MMT patients. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of club drugs and alcohol abuse among MMT patients and to investigate the associations between these abuse and treatment outcomes - dropout and poor adherence. In this one-year cohort study conducting in Guangzhou, China, data including background characteristics, club drugs use in the last six months, alcohol use history and treatment-related information was collected. Cox regression analyses and log-binomial regression analyses were applied to identify the associations between these abuse and dropout and poor adherence, respectively. Thirty-seven participants (9.2%) admitted to the use of at least one type of club drugs in the last six months and 88 (21.9%) were identified as alcohol abusers. Of all participants, 21.0% had dropped out of treatment and 27.7% exhibited poor adherence during the study period. Adjusting for significant background variables, use of at least one type of club drugs [hazards ratio (HR) = 1.90, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.01-3.56] and use of methamphetamine in the last six months (HR = 2.26, 95% CI = 1.15-4.43) significantly predicted dropout. Frequency of having six or more drinks on one drinking occasion when drinking [relative risk (RR) = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.16-2.95] significantly predicted poor adherence. Our findings indicated that club drugs and alcohol abuse predicted dropout and poor adherence among MMT patients. Early identification and intervention for the abuse should be taken into consideration when developing interventions tailored to improve treatment outcomes among MMT patients.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology , School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University , Guangzhou , People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Di
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology , School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University , Guangzhou , People's Republic of China.|b Sun Yat-sen Global Health Institute, Institute of State Governance, Sun Yat-sen University , Guangzhou , People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: c Department of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control , Guangzhou Center for Disease Prevention and Control , Guangzhou , People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Huifang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology , School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University , Guangzhou , People's Republic of China.|b Sun Yat-sen Global Health Institute, Institute of State Governance, Sun Yat-sen University , Guangzhou , People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology , School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University , Guangzhou , People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Mingxu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jiao
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology , School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University , Guangzhou , People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: c Department of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control , Guangzhou Center for Disease Prevention and Control , Guangzhou , People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yuteng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology , School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University , Guangzhou , People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Babbitt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Andrew
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology , School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University , Guangzhou , People's Republic of China.|b Sun Yat-sen Global Health Institute, Institute of State Governance, Sun Yat-sen University , Guangzhou , People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yuantao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hao
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015198:Designer Drugs; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008691:Methadone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009294:Narcotics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D058850:Opiate Substitution Treatment; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy; D010352:Patient Dropouts / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016903:Drug Monitoring
chemical_list: D015198:Designer Drugs; D009294:Narcotics; D008691:Methadone
keywords: Methadone maintenance treatment; adherence; alcohol; club drugs; dropout