ArticleDrug and alcohol dependence2015
The impact of low-threshold methadone maintenance treatment on mortality in a Canadian setting.
Article in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 62 citations in OpenAlex.
- "I really can't imagine anything that could've been more easy": patient perspectives on low-threshold peer-facilitated telemedicine hepatitis C treatment for people who use drugs.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2026Article
- "I still can feel the sickness": Withdrawal experiences of people on methadone maintenance treatment.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2025Article
- Article
- "As safe as possible": a qualitative study of opioid withdrawal and risk behavior among people who use illegal opioids.Harm reduction journal · 2023Article
- Typology of laws restricting access to methadone treatment in the United States: A latent class analysis.The International journal on drug policy · 2023Article
- The development and validation of the pandemic medication-assisted treatment questionnaire for the assessment of pandemic crises impact on medication management and administration for patients with opioid use disorders.Nordisk alkohol- & narkotikatidskrift : NAT · 2023Article
- Article
- Awareness, perception and utilization of a mobile health clinic by people who use drugs.Annals of medicine · 2022Article
- Low barrier medication for opioid use disorder at a federally qualified health center: a retrospective cohort study.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2022Article
- Modeling the cost-effectiveness and impact on fatal overdose and initiation of buprenorphine-naloxone treatment at syringe service programs.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2022Article
- A qualitative study exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) and drug service provision in the UK: PWID and service provider perspectives.The International journal on drug policy · 2022Article
- Assessing the Temporality Between Transitions onto Opioid Agonist Therapy and Engagement with Antiretroviral Therapy in a Cohort of HIV-Positive People Who Use Opioids Daily.AIDS and behavior · 2022Article
- "The idea is to help people achieve greater success and liberty": A qualitative study of expanded methadone take-home access in opioid use disorder treatment.Substance abuse · 2022Article
- Robustness of estimated access to opioid use disorder treatment providers in rural vs. urban areas of the United States.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2021Article
- A chance to do it better: Methadone maintenance treatment in the age of Covid-19.Journal of substance abuse treatment · 2021Article
- Office-Based Addiction Treatment Retention and Mortality Among People Experiencing Homelessness.JAMA network open · 2021Article
- "I'm Going to Stop Myself Before Someone Stops Me": Complicating Narratives of Volitional Substance Use Treatment.Frontiers in sociology · 2021Article
- Research priorities for expanding access to methadone treatment for opioid use disorder in the United States: A National Institute on Drug Abuse Center for Clinical Trials Network Task Force report.Substance abuse · 2021Article
- Motivations to initiate injectable hydromorphone and diacetylmorphine treatment: A qualitative study of patient experiences in Vancouver, Canada.The International journal on drug policy · 2020Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMethadone maintenance therapy (MMT) is among the most effective treatment modalities available for the management of opioid use disorder. However, the effect of MMT on mortality, and optimal strategies for delivering methadone are less clear. This study sought to estimate the effect of low-threshold MMT and its association with all-cause mortality among persons who inject drugs (PWID) in a setting where methadone is widely available through primary care physicians and community pharmacies at no cost through the setting's universal medical insurance plan.
methodsBetween May, 1996 and December, 2011 data were collected as part of two prospective cohort studies of PWID in Vancouver, Canada, and were linked to the provincial vital statistics database to ascertain rates and causes of death. The association of MMT with all-cause mortality was estimated using multivariable extended Cox regression with time-dependent variables.
resultsOf 2335 PWID providing 15027 person-years of observation, 511 deaths were observed for a mortality rate of 3.4 (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 3.1-3.7) deaths per 100 person-years. After adjusting for potential confounders including age and HIV seropositivity, MMT enrolment was found to be associated with lower mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR]=0.73, 95% CI: 0.61-0.88).
conclusionsWhile observed all-cause mortality rates among PWID in this setting were high, participation in low-threshold MMT was significantly associated with improved survival. These findings add to the known benefits of providing low-threshold MMT on reducing the harms associated with injection drug use.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.