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Heroin Addiction and Related Clinical Problems: 2015, 17, 5 (pages: 5 - 12)

Gender Differences in Opioid Maintenance Treatment

Schoofs N., Wiers C., Bald L.K., Bermpohl F., and Gutwinski S.

Summary: Background: Despite the fact that about a third of the patients receiving opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) are women, little is known about gender differences regarding OMT in chronically affected opioid-dependent patients. Aim: The aim of the survey has been to explore gender aspects of OMT in a naturalistic, representative sample of chronic opioid dependence patients receiving OMT. Our investigation has focused on the profile of OMT, clinical characteristics of the dependence, the socioeconomic and health status of patients. Methods: We performed a regionwide survey of subjects with opioid dependence in Berlin, Germany. In the survey, 986 subjects (260 of them female) took part, comprising 19.6% of all registered patients in OMT in Berlin. 52.2% of the participants were below and 47.8% above 40 years old. Results: Women were significantly more often treated with levomethadone (p=0.028) and had been longer in OMT (p<0.001) than men. The duration of the opioid dependence did not differ between genders, and no significant difference in prescribed OMT dosages was found. The number of detoxification treatments did not differ between men and women. Concerning concomitant use, we found that current concomitant use of illegal substances was more frequent in men (p< 0.05), specifically for cannabis (p<0.001) and alcohol (p<.05). Focusing on the issue of health status, we found no gender differences in the prevalence of infectious diseases. Men showed significantly higher rates of lifetime prevalence of imprisonment than women (p<0.001). Conclusion: We conclude that there are substantial gender differences in OMT, above all, in the choice of type of medication and the duration of OMT.