Table 1.
Characteristics of Patients Initiating Methadone Treatment
| Characteristic | Initial Methadone Dosea |
Total (N = 629) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low (< 40 mg) | Medium (40–85 mg) | High (>85 mg) | ||
| Demographics | ||||
| Age, y | ||||
| ≤25 | 7 (3) | 19 (8) | 11 (7) | 37 (6) |
| 26–35 | 115 (51) | 140 (58) | 94 (59) | 349 (56) |
| 36–45 | 94 (41) | 75 (31) | 47 (22) | 216 (34) |
| >45 | 11 (5) | 6 (3) | 8 (5) | 25 (4) |
| Male sex | 213 (94) | 225 (94) | 147 (92) | 585 (93) |
| More than primary-level education | 113 (50) | 57 (26) | 38 (29) | 208 (36) |
| Married | 38 (17) | 24 (10) | 20 (13) | 82 (13) |
| At least 1 child | 74 (33) | 62 (29) | 37 (29) | 173 (31) |
| Sexual risk factors | ||||
| Multiple sex partners in last 6 mo | 41 (18) | 44 (19) | 32 (21) | 117 (19) |
| Risky sexual behavior in last 6 mo | 87 (39) | 122 (52) | 84 (55) | 293 (48) |
| Injection risk factors | ||||
| Ever used flashblood | 17 (8) | 19 (8) | 8 (5) | 44 (7) |
| Shared needles at last injection | 34 (15) | 27 (11) | 20 (13) | 81 (13) |
| Cleaned shared needles with bleach | 15 (44) | 8 (30) | 6 (30) | 29 (36) |
| Shared other equipment at last injection | 29 (13) | 20 (8) | 16 (10) | 65 (11) |
| Polysubstance use | 73 (32) | 79 (37) | 39 (31) | 191 (34) |
| Mental health history | ||||
| High substance dependence | 150 (74) | 167 (87) | 132 (83) | 449 (81) |
| Depression in last 30 d | 57 (25) | 47 (22) | 26 (20) | 130 (23) |
| Anxiety in last 30 d | 55 (24) | 46 (21) | 26 (20) | 127 (22) |
| History of abuse | ||||
| Any history of physical abuse | 24 (11) | 28 (13) | 20 (16) | 72 (13) |
| Any history of sexual abuse | 1 (<1) | 5 (2) | 5 (4) | 11 (2) |
| Criminal history | ||||
| Ever arrested | 138 (61) | 114 (53) | 64 (49) | 316 (55) |
Data are presented as No. (%).
a Average dose of the patient's first 3 months of treatment.