Bone Mineral Density in Young Women on Methadone Substitution

• Published in: Calcified tissue international Vol. 89; no. 3; pp. 228 - 233
• Main Authors: Milos, Gabriella, Gallo, Luigi M., Sosic, Branca, Uebelhart, Daniel, Goerres, Gerhard, Haeuselmann, Hans-Jörg, Eich, Dominique
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer-Verlag 01.09.2011; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Absorptiometry, Photon; Adult; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Bone density; Bone Density - drug effects; Bone Density - physiology; Case-Control Studies; Cell Biology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Drug addiction; Endocrinology; Female; Femur Neck - diagnostic imaging; Heroin Dependence - diagnostic imaging; Heroin Dependence - drug therapy; Heroin Dependence - physiopathology; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Life Sciences; Lumbar Vertebrae - diagnostic imaging; Methadone; Methadone - adverse effects; Methadone - pharmacology; Methadone - therapeutic use; Opiate Substitution Treatment - adverse effects; Original Research; Orthopedics; Side effects; Surveys and Questionnaires; Women; Young Adult; Young adults; Opioid; Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry; Bone mineral density; Methadone
• ISSN: 0171-967X; 1432-0827
• DOI: 10.1007/s00223-011-9510-4

Little is known about bone mineral density (BMD) in patients with heroin addiction and subsequent methadone substitution. The goal of this study was to compare bone mass density of young HIV-negative women on long-term methadone treatment to a local group of young healthy women. Eleven women (aged 20–29) with previous heroin dependence and current methadone substitution (20–140 mg, median 60, daily) for 1.5–9 (median 3) years were compared to 30 healthy women (aged 20–28). Participants were examined with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry of the lumbar spine (L2–L4), of the total proximal hip area, and of the femoral neck. Patients and controls had neither current nor lifetime underweight condition, had comparable ages at menarche, and did not differ significantly in current body mass index (21.9 ± 4.0, respectively, 20.5 ± 1.5 kg/m 2 ) in spite of a largely unhealthy lifestyle (cigarette, alcohol, and cocaine consumption in patients). Patients’ total-hip parameters were marginally lower than those of controls (BMD P  = 0.054, T score P  = 0.049), whereas the femoral neck and lumbar spine parameters did not differ significantly between the two groups. Long-term methadone substitution in HIV-negative women seems to slightly affect bone mass density.