Methadone mortality Taiwan

Factors associated with mortality among heroin users after seeking treatment with

methadone: A population-based cohort study in Taiwan

• 1616 Taiwanese heroin users between October 2006 and December 2008, central Taiwan (National Taiwan University Hospital Yun-Lin Branch, St. Joseph's Hospital, China Medical University Beigang Hospital, and National Cheng Kung University Hospital Dou-Liou Branch),
• linkage with the National Death Certification Registry system
• Opiate Treatment Index (OTI),
• 26 (1.6%) people died, with an all-cause mortality rate per 100 person years of 3.42
• The primary cause of death  was
• accidents,
• suicide
• drug overdose
• Older age, HIV infection, psychiatric treatment history, and alcohol abuse/dependence were risk factors for all-cause mortality;
• remaining on MMT was protective for survival

Factors associated with mortality among heroin users after seeking treatment with methadone: A population-based cohort study in Taiwan. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2012 Sep 25. pii: S0740-5472(12)00138-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2012.08.003. [Epub ahead of print]


Charles Lung-Cheng Huang, M.D.a,b, Lee Chung-Wei, Master c
a Department of Psychiatry, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan
b Department of Nursing, Chung-Hwa University of Medical Technology, Tainan, Taiwan
c Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital Yun-Lin Branch, Yun-Lin, Taiwan