background: to understand the relapse process, it is required to notice the clients learned behaviors and environmental contexts. we aimed to explore and describe relapse experiences of iranian drug users. methods: this is a grounded theory study and twenty two participants were selected using purposive sampling, snowball and theoretical sampling. after obtaining written informed consent, data ...

BACKGROUND The harm arising from illicit drug use, particularly the use of opiates such as heroin, is of considerable concern in Australia. In 1997–1998, it was estimated that there were approximately 74,000 heroin-dependent people in Australia, with about 35,400 (48 per cent) of these residing in NSW. Between 1989 and 1999, the annual number of deaths attributable to heroin and other opiates a...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of opiate substitution treatment at the beginning and end of treatment and according to duration of treatment. DESIGN Prospective cohort study. Setting UK General Practice Research Database. PARTICIPANTS Primary care patients with a diagnosis of substance misuse prescribed methadone or buprenorphine during 1990-2005. 5577 patients with 267 003 prescriptio...

BACKGROUND Attention from researchers and health care workers to the quality of life (QoL) of opiate users is growing, but most studies are quantitative, giving limited attention to the consumer's perspective. No information is available on how opiate-dependent individuals themselves perceive QoL and what they see as the important components that contribute to a good QoL. OBJECTIVES This qual...

The use of prescription drugs, including synthetic opiates, is increasing in the U.S., with emergency room reports showing a dramatic rise in prescription opiate abuse. As part of an ongoing study, the hair of admitted opiate users was analyzed for hydrocodone and hydromorphone, as well as codeine, morphine, and 6-acetylmorphine in order to determine if there was any correlation between self-re...

AIMS To examine trends in treated opiate misuse and identify factors associated with route of heroin use. DESIGN Cross-sectional survey. SETTING Services providing addiction treatment in Dublin. PARTICIPANTS Individuals making their first ever contact seeking treatment for current opiate misuse, between January 1991 and December 1996. MEASUREMENTS Data on socio-demographics and current ...

OBJECTIVE To estimate the mortality rates from drug-related deaths and other causes among problem drug users and population attributable risk of death due to opiate use in eight study sites in Europe. METHODS Opiate users were recruited from drug treatment centres during the period 1990-1998 and deaths followed up through national or local mortality registries. Gender-specific overall mortali...

Background: Based on the studies, variation in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number in peripheral blood leukocytes is associated with increased susceptibility to diseases including cancer. Opiate abusers are at high risk for diseases. In this study, we measured the mtDNA copy number in peripheral blood leukocytes in a group of opiate abusers compared with those in healthy individuals. Met...

OBJECTIVES To examine survival and long term cessation of injecting in a cohort of drug users and to assess the influence of opiate substitution treatment on these outcomes. DESIGN Prospective open cohort study. SETTING A single primary care facility in Edinburgh. PARTICIPANTS 794 patients with a history of injecting drug use presenting between 1980 and 2007; 655 (82%) were followed up by...