Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36609286›Full record

Trial reportSubstance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy2023

Investigating the effect of zinc supplementation on probability of relapse and mental health in patients with opioid use disorder undergoing methadone maintenance treatment.

Zahra Amini, Ebrahim HeidariFarsani

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.7field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Multi-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of buprenorphine treatment response.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. An emerging role for synaptic ZnPharmacology & therapeutics · 2026
    Review
  4. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Zahra AminiDepartment of Community and Family Medicine, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Hezar Jerib Street, Isfahan, 8174673461, Isfahan Province, Iran.ORCID 0000-0001-7642-2531
Ebrahim HeidariFarsaniDepartment of Community and Family Medicine, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Hezar Jerib Street, Isfahan, 8174673461, Isfahan Province, Iran. ebrahimheidri75@gmail.com.ORCID 0000-0001-5399-9266
Isfahan University of Medical Sciences · IR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundConsidering different factors, such as high withdrawal rates in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) programs alongside mental health (MH) problems appearing in patients with opioid use disorder and the lack of prior research on the effect of zinc supplementation in this respect, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of zinc supplementation on the probability of relapse (PoR) and MH problems in patients with opioid use disorder undergoing MMT.

methodsFor this purpose, a randomized controlled trial with a clinical basis was fulfilled on a total of 68 patients with opioid use disorder receiving MMT, allocated to two groups, viz. intervention, and control (each one consisting of 34 individuals). Then, the participants in the intervention group were given zinc supplements combined with methadone for three months, and the controls only took methadone, according to the treatment plan. The data were collected using the Relapse Prediction Scale (RPS) and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale 21 (DASS-21) before, one month after, and at the end of the intervention program.

findingsCompared to the control group, the likelihood of drug use (p = 0.01), drug craving (p = 0.002), and the RPS total score (p = 0.002) in the intervention group was significantly lower. Moreover, the results revealed a significant decreasing trend in depression (p = 0.01), anxiety (p < 0.001), stress (p = 0.001), and the DASS-21 total score (p = 0.001) in the intervention. Compared to the control group, the DASS-21 total score (p < 0.001) in the intervention group was significantly lower.

conclusionAccordingly, it was concluded that zinc supplementation could reduce the PoR and improve MH problems in patients with opioid use disorder experiencing MMT. However, further research is recommended to fill the gaps.

trial registrationThe research protocol has also been listed on the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) with code no. IRCT2020050904736N1.

Indexed as

MethadoneOpioid-Related DisordersDietary SupplementsHumansIranMental HealthOpiate Substitution TreatmentRecurrenceZincMethadoneZincMental healthMethadone maintenance treatmentProbability of relapseZinc supplementation

Identifiers

PMID36609286
PMCPMC9817328
OpenAlexW4313645756

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.