According to a study conducted by McMaster University, people with drug addictions who started opioid abuse later in life use injections for their drugs, or increased their use of downers before starting drug treatment, are more likely to relapse from treatment than others
But, the older the person with drug abuse issues, the more likely they will not relapse from treatment.
Canada and the U.S. are the world’s highest consumers of prescription opioids which are common drugs for pain management.
At least one study says one in six Canadians using prescription opioids. But these medications are also highly addicting and liable for abuse.
Methadone maintenance treatment is the most common intervention for those with drug addiction, but relapse is common, with 46% of patients continuing to use illicit opioids during or after the methadone treatment.
McMaster looked at 250 adults who had been on a methadone treatment for an average of four years at 13 clinical sites in Ontario.
They found that:
· Those who injected drugs were more than twice as likely to relapse by using opioids while on treatment, than those who did not inject drugs;
· For every year increase in age of starting to abuse opioids there is a 10% increase in relapse;
· For every day of benzodiazepine use in the previous month there is a 7% increase in relapse; while current age carries 7% reduction in risk of relapse (the older the person, the less likely of relapse).
