Characteristics and Outcome of Male and Female Methadone Maintenance Patients: MMT in Tel Aviv and Las Vegas

Abstract

To compare in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) gender characteristics and outcomes, all patients ever admitted to Tel Aviv (TA) MMT clinic (N = 837) (June 1993-December 2014) and Las Vegas (LV) MMT clinic (N = 1256) (February 2000-June 2015) were prospectively followed-up (until June 2016). Drugs in urine on admission and after one year and long-term retention up to 23 and 16 years, respectively, were analyzed. Females in both clinics admitted younger than males and following shorter duration of opioid usage (TA: n = 215, 25.7%, age 35.0 ± 7.9 vs. 40.6 ± 9.8 years, p < .0005, duration 12.4 ± 7.0 vs. 18.1 ± 10 years, p < .0005; LV, n = 494, 39.3%, age 38.0 ± 12.6 vs. 39.2 ± 12.8, p = .08 duration 12.9 ± 11.0 vs. 14.8 ± 12.7 years, p = .008). On admission, higher proportion of female than male had positive urine for cocaine in TA (30.4% vs. 21.8%, p = .02) and for benzodiazepine in LVs (33.9% vs. 26.6%, p = .006). After 1 year, both genders had similar retention rate (TA: 76.1% LV: 49.8%) and opioid abstinence (TA: 67.6%, LV: 74.9%), and cumulative retention (TA: 8.2 years, 95% Confidence-Interval 7.6-8.8; LV 2.2 years, 95% confidence interval 2.0-2.4).

Conclusions: Clinics differed in their characteristics and outcome, however in both clinic similar outcome between genders despite the difference in characteristics on admission was observed, as did the known women "telescoping effect."

Keywords: Gender differences; methadone maintenance treatment; outcome; pregnant women; retention.