Illicit heroin and methamphetamine use among methadone maintenance treatment patients in Dehong Prefecture of Yunnan Province, China

Abstract

Objective: Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) was introduced to China in 2004 to reduce the harm of injecting drug users (IDUs). However, little is known about continued drug use, especially methamphetamine (MAMP), among MMT patients. Methods: A survey was conducted among patients attending five major MMT clinics in Dehong Prefecture in 2014 to investigate the heroin and MAMP use and their associated risk factors. Participants were administered with face-to-face interviews, and urine tests for morphine and MAMP. Results: A total of 2,121 were eligible and participated in the study. Among them, 220 (10.4%) were only positive for morphine, 12.9% were only positive for MAMP, and 196 (9.2%) were positive for both morphine and MAMP. Compared with neither use of heroin nor MAMP during MMT, heroin use (not using MAMP) was associated with ethnicity, shorter duration of MMT, lower dose of methadone, and having had no more than two sex partners in the past year; MAMP use (not using heroin) was associated with ethnicity, longer duration of MMT, higher dose of methadone and being aged <30 years (vs. ≥50 years); use of both heroin and MAMP was associated with being Dai minority (vs. Han), a marital status of divorced or widowed, having used drugs for ≥10 years and shorter duration of MMT. Conclusion: These findings indicate the complexity in the treatment of heroin users and underscore the importance in prescribing appropriate methadone dosages in order to reduce both heroin and MAMP use. Copyright: