Eating Attitudes in Egyptian Male Patients With Opioid Dependence

Abstract

Objectives: Patients with substance-use disorders in general and with opiate use in particular may suffer from different eating problems. A higher prevalence of eating disorders is evident in patients with opiate-use disorders than general population. Materials and Methods: Three groups aged 20 to 50 years with 30 male participants in each group were included in the study. Participants in group 1 were opioid-dependent patients with <1 week’s abstinence from substance. Group 2 included patients with opioid dependence after completion of 30 days' detoxification. Participants in the third group consisted of volunteers with no substance-use disorders. Members of patient groups (1 and 2) were diagnosed according to DSM-IV and were tested using Addiction Severity Index, while the all 3 groups were tested using Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26). Results: Group 2 had the highest dieting scale score of EAT-36, followed by group 1 and group 3 (P=0.000). There was no difference with regard to bulimia and the Food Preoccupation Scale score in the 3 groups studied (P=0.123). Group 1 had the highest Oral control scale score followed by group 2 and group 3 (P=0.000). In the total EAT-36 score, patients with current opioid dependence had the highest scores (P=0.000). Tramadol daily dose correlated positively with the bulimia scale, oral control scale, and total EAT-26 in all patients of groups 1 and 2 together (P=0.014, 0.025, and 0.000, respectively). Conclusions: Eating patterns among patients with opioid dependence are different from that of patients in recovery and the normal population.