Table 1.
Baseline population characteristics of cohort studies on mortality risk in people with opioid dependence during and after opioid substitution treatment*
| Study | Location | Population | Opioid injectors (%) | Non-opioid drug use (%) | HIV positive (%) | Psychiatric comorbidity (%) | Medical comorbidity (%) | Men (%) | Baseline mean age (years) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Methadone | |||||||||
| Gearing, 197424 | New York, US | Heroin dependent | NA | 8.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | NA | 79.0 | 30.0 |
| Cushman, 197725 | New York, US | Opioid dependent | NA | NA | 0.0 | 2.9 | 27.4 | 73.0 | 38.5 |
| Grönbladh, 199026 | Nationwide, Sweden | Heroin dependent | NA | 0.0 | 0.0 | NA | NA | 78.3 | 27.5 |
| Caplehorn, 1994,27 199628 | Parramatta, NSW, Australia | Heroin dependent | NA | NA | 0.0 | NA | NA | 72.0 | 23.4 |
| Fugelstad, 199529 | Stockholm, Sweden | HIV positive injecting opioid dependent | 100.0 | 0.0 | 100.0 | NA | NA | NA | 31.8 |
| Fugelstad, 199830 | Stockholm, Sweden | Non voluntarily treated injecting heroin dependent | 100.0 | 0.0 | 67.9 | 38.6 | 98.2 | 50.0 | 29.3 |
| Buster, 20027 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Opioid dependent | 34.7 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 77.0 | 32.6 |
| Scherbaum, 200231 | State-wide, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany | Injecting opioid dependent | 100.0 | NA | NA | 70.0 | NA | 78.0 | 32.0 |
| Davoli, 200732 | Nationwide, Italy | Heroin dependent | 72.0 | NA | 8.0 | 13.0 | NA | 80.0 | 31.5 |
| Fugelstad, 200733 | Stockholm, Sweden | Heroin dependent | NA | 0.0 | 27.5 | NA | NA | NA | 38.2 |
| Clausen, 200834 | Nationwide, Norway | Opioid dependent | 92.5 | NA | 3.5 | NA | NA | 67.6 | 39.6 |
| Degenhardt, 20096 | State-wide, NSW, Australia | Opioid dependent | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 64.8 | 29.6 |
| Cornish, 20108 | Nationwide, UK | Opioid dependent | NA | NA | NA | NA | 17.5 | 69.3 | 30.1 |
| Peles, 201035 | Tel Aviv, Israel | Opioid dependent | NA | 67.5 | 8.4 | 41.6 | NA | 73.6 | 37.6 |
| Evans, 20159 | State-wide, CA, US | Opioid dependent | 55.2 | 21.9 | NA | 23.1 | 19.0 | 64.2 | 35.3 |
| Kimber, 201510 | State-wide, NSW, Australia | Opioid dependent | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 65.8 | 33.4 |
| Nosyk, 201536 | State-wide, BC, Canada | HAART treated HIV positive injecting opioid dependent | 100.0 | NA | 100.0 | NA | 33.3 | 66.7 | 36.0 |
| Cousins, 201637 | Nationwide, Ireland | Opioid dependent | NA | NA | NA | 22.8 | 22.0 | 68.7 | 30.5 |
| Buprenorphine | |||||||||
| Cornish, 20108 | Nationwide, UK | Opioid dependent | NA | NA | NA | NA | 17.5 | 69.3 | 30.1 |
| Reece, 201038 | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | Opioid dependent | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 73.0 | 30.5 |
| Kimber, 201510 | State-wide, NSW, Australia | Opioid dependent | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 70.7 | 32.5 |
NA=not available; HAART=highly active antiretroviral therapy.
*Opioid substitution treatment with either methadone or buprenorphine, except for Clausen et al34 in which about 93% of participants used methadone and only 7% used buprenorphine during study period.