Effects of opium consumption on cardiometabolic diseases

• Published in: Nature reviews cardiology Vol. 10; no. 12; pp. 733 - 740
• Main Authors: Masoudkabir, Farzad, Sarrafzadegan, Nizal, Eisenberg, Mark J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.12.2013; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 692/499; 692/699/2743; 692/699/75; 692/700/478; Analgesics, Opioid - adverse effects; Animals; Arabs - psychology; Asian Continental Ancestry Group - psychology; Cardiac Imaging; Cardiac Surgery; Cardiology; Cardiovascular diseases; Care and treatment; Cultural Characteristics; Culture; Health aspects; Health Behavior; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Heart Diseases - ethnology; Heart Diseases - etiology; Heart Diseases - psychology; Humans; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolic Diseases - ethnology; Metabolic Diseases - etiology; Metabolic Diseases - psychology; opinion-2; Opioid-Related Disorders - complications; Opioid-Related Disorders - ethnology; Opioid-Related Disorders - psychology; Opium; Opium - adverse effects; Patient Education as Topic; Risk Assessment; Risk Factors; Iran; Canada
• ISSN: 1759-5002; 1759-5010
• DOI: 10.1038/nrcardio.2013.159

Opium is a widely abused substance throughout the Middle East and Asia. In this Perspectives article, Dr Masoudkabir and colleagues dispel the commonly held misconception in these regions that opium has beneficial effects on cardiovascular health, and summarize the available evidence showing that, conversely, opium use is a risk factor for cardiometabolic diseases. Opium is the second-most-commonly abused substance (after tobacco) in developing countries of the Middle East region, and in many Asian nations. One of the reasons for the high prevalence of opium abuse in these countries is a traditional belief among Eastern people, even including some medical staff, that opium might have beneficial effects on cardiovascular health and in the control of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and dyslipidaemia. In this Perspectives article, we summarize the current understanding of the pharmacotoxicology of opium and its specific effects on glycaemic control, blood pressure, lipid profile, and atherosclerosis. On the basis of the available evidence, we believe not only that opium has no ameliorating effect on cardiovascular diseases, but also that the use of this drug might have adverse effects on these conditions. Therefore, people should be educated about the hazardous effects of opium consumption on cardiometabolic diseases.