Comorbid Psychopathology and Alcohol Use Patterns among Methadone Maintenance Treatment Patients.

Georgios Moussas,Arezina Asomatou,Georgios Paschalakis,Meni Malliori,Argiro Pachi,Olga Drylli,Irene Fanouraki,Konstantinos Giotakis,Athanasios Tselebis,Georgios Dermatis,Dionisios Bratis

doi:10.1155/2015/197652

Abstract

130 patients from a methadone maintenance treatment program agreed to complete Symptoms Checklist 90-Revised (SCL-90R) and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) self-report scales. Scores higher than the proposed cut-score on SCL-90R scale were observed on depression, obsessions-compulsions, paranoid ideation, anxiety, anger-hostility, somatization, interpersonal sensitivity, and psychoticism subscales. In sum, 42.9% of our sample exhibited depressive symptomatology, 34.9% obsessive-compulsive symptoms, 29.1% somatization, 27.2% anxiety symptoms, 22.2% paranoid ideation, 19% phobic anxiety, 15.1% psychoticism, and 15.1% hostility and 11.9% presented with symptoms of interpersonal sensitivity. Mean score on AUDIT scale was 6.9 ± 7.9. 63.0% of our participants scored below cut-off and were classified as having a low level of alcohol-related problems; 24.4% scored in the range of 8–15 which is an indication of alcohol abuse whereas 12.6% scored 16 and above indicative of serious abuse/addiction. Scores on AUDIT scale were positively correlated with length of time on methadone treatment, but not with length of time on drug use or age of our participants. Positive correlations were observed among AUDIT and SCL-90R scores, namely, with global severity index score, positive symptom distress index, positive symptom total, and all primary symptom dimensions subscales except phobic anxiety.

Highlights

Substance abuse and dependence, especially opioid dependence, contribute significantly to the global burden of disease in Greece [1]
Sample-Procedure. 130 randomly selected individuals from a population list of 300 methadone maintenance patients treated in the 4th Substitution Unit of OKANA in Athens agreed to complete Symptoms Checklist 90Revised (SCL-90R) and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) self-report scales, during one year
Highest mean score was observed in depressive dimension of the SCL-90R and lowest one in phobic anxiety (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Especially opioid dependence, contribute significantly to the global burden of disease in Greece [1]. According to the Greek Documentation and Monitoring Centre for Drugs (EKTEPN) a rising trend in the use of all illegal drugs was observed during the last 30 years in Greece among 15–19-year-old students [2]. In 2011 the Nationwide School Population Survey on Alcohol and Other Drugs in Greece stated that 1.3% in this juvenile age group reported past heroin use [3]. The estimated number of drug users, aged 15–64 years and reporting heroin as primary drug, was 22,515 for the year 2010 in Greece [4]. Treatment programs led to the development of the Organisation against Drugs (OKANA) in 1995, with 54 Substitution Treatment Units and a total of 9.878 persons in substitution treatment in Greece in 2012. Most of them reported polysubstance abuse (74%), with heroin as a primary drug of abuse (77.5%) [5]

Results

Discussion

Conclusion