Quality of life of outpatients in methadone maintenance treatment clinics.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the quality of life (QOL) changes in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) clinic outpatients in the first 3 months of treatment.

METHODS

A cohort study was conducted in 5 MMT clinics for more than 3 months, and the QOL of outpatients was measured by the QOL instrument for drug addicts at days 1, 30, and 90 to explore QOL changes. Repeated measurement analysis method was used for data analysis.

RESULTS

One hundred seventy-two outpatients in 5 MMT clinics were recruited, and 142 (82.65%) remained in treatment at day 90. The Cronbach alpha coefficient of the QOL instrument for drug addicts used in our study is 0.96, with a range of 0.74-0.94 for all subscales. The QOL scores of drug addicts improved from day 1 to day 30 (X(beginning) = 51.92, X(first month) = 74.83, P < 0.01), and all subscale scores improved significantly (P < 0.01). However, QOL improved little from day 30 to day 90, (X(first month) = 74.83, X(third month) = 75.99, P < 0.01). Physical health and mental health improved significantly during the second and third month, whereas all other subscale scores did not (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

MMT is helpful in improving the QOL of outpatients in MMT clinics in China.