Prevalence of pain and its socio-demographic and clinical correlates among heroin-dependent patients receiving methadone maintenance treatment

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 8840 - 6
• Main Authors: Yang, Ying-Jia, Xu, Yan-Min, Chen, Wen-Cai, Zhu, Jun-Hong, Lu, Jin, Zhong, Bao-Liang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 18.08.2017; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 692/499; 692/699/476/5; Adult; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Heroin; Heroin - adverse effects; Heroin Dependence - drug therapy; Heroin Dependence - epidemiology; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Male; Mental depression; Methadone; Methadone - therapeutic use; Middle Aged; multidisciplinary; Opiate Substitution Treatment; Pain; Pain - drug therapy; Pain - epidemiology; Patients; Prevalence; Public Health Surveillance; Regression analysis; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sociodemographics; Socioeconomic Factors; Young Adult
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-09404-w

To date there have been no studies investigating the characteristics of pain in Chinese heroin-dependent patients (HDPs) receiving methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). This study examined the frequency and socio-demographic and clinical correlates of pain in HDPs under MMT. A consecutive sample of 603 HDPs was recruited from three MMT clinics in Wuhan, China. These patients completed a standardized questionnaire concerning socio-demographic and clinical data. Pain intensity was assessed with the 5-point Verbal Rating Scale (“Overall, how intense is your pain now?”) with responses of: 1 = none, 2 = mild, 3 = moderate, 4 = severe, 5 = very severe. A pain score of three or higher was used to denote clinical significant pain (CSP). The prevalence of CSP in HDPs receiving MMT was 53.6%. Factors significantly associated CSP in multiple logistics regression analysis were old age, marital status of “non-married”, unemployment, having religious beliefs, a history of injecting heroin, a high dose of methadone, and more depressive symptoms. Over a half of Chinese HDPs receiving MMT have CSP. Services for HDPs in MMT settings should include periodic screening for pain, psychosocial supports, and professional treatment for pain.