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. 2017 Jul;15(4):355-358.
doi: 10.1370/afm.2098.

Mortality Associated With Time in and Out of Buprenorphine Treatment in French Office-Based General Practice: A 7-Year Cohort Study

Julie Dupouy  1   2 , Aurore Palmaro  2   3 , Mélina Fatséas  4   5 , Marc Auriacombe  4   5 , Joëlle Micallef  6   7 , Stéphane Oustric  8   2 , Maryse Lapeyre-Mestre  2   3
Affiliations

Mortality Associated With Time in and Out of Buprenorphine Treatment in French Office-Based General Practice: A 7-Year Cohort Study

Julie Dupouy et al. Ann Fam Med. 2017 Jul.

Abstract

In France, most cases of opioid use disorder are treated with buprenorphine by general practitioners in private practice. Using reimbursement data of a representative sample of the French population, Echantillon Généraliste des Bénéficiaires, we investigated mortality during periods when patients were in and out of treatment in a cohort of 713 new users of buprenorphine having a mean (SD) follow-up of 4.5 (1.5) years. The mortality rate was 0.63 per 100 person-years (95% CI, 0.40-0.85) overall. In a multivariate Cox regression model, compared with being in treatment, being out of treatment was associated with a markedly increased risk of death (hazard ratio = 29.04; 95% CI, 10.04-83.99). Buprenorphine appears to be a strong protective factor against mortality.

Keywords: ambulatory care; buprenorphine; cohort studies; mortality; opioid maintenance treatment; opioid-related disorders; primary care; private practice.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: authors report none.

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