Gender differences in substance use patterns and disorders among an Iranian patient sample receiving methadone maintenance treatment
Background: The current prevalence rate of substance abuse and dependence, represents an increasing trend of substance abuse and dependence among women, and the results of epidemiology studies indicate that substance use patterns are different between men and women. This study aimed to determine g...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Electronic Physician
2017-09-01
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| Series: | Electronic Physician |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5633237/ |
| Summary: | Background: The current prevalence rate of substance abuse and dependence, represents an increasing trend of
substance abuse and dependence among women, and the results of epidemiology studies indicate that substance
use patterns are different between men and women. This study aimed to determine gender differences in
substance use patterns and disorders among the patients undergoing methadone maintenance treatment.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted throughout a specified time bracket ranging from September
2012 through March 2013 in Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) clinics of Mashhad, Iran. In this study,
140 men and 120 women were selected from among the patients referring to MMT clinics in Mashhad through
purposeful sampling method. The sample units were assessed using a demographic information questionnaire and
Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (SCID). The data were
then analyzed by Chi Square test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Independent-samples t-test. SPSS software 16 was
used to conduct statistical analyses with P values less than 0.05 regarded as significant.
Results: The results showed that men and women are significantly different from each other in terms of marital
status (p=0.001), education (p=0.001), income (p=0.001), history of injection (p=0.002), imprisonment
(p=0.001), and substance use abstention (p=0.023). It was also revealed that methamphetamine dependence
(p=0.017) and simultaneous use of multiple substances (p=0.001) in the past 12 months were diagnosed, to a
larger extent, in male participants than those in female participants. In addition, the diagnoses of nicotine
dependence (p=0.001), cannabis abuse (p=0.001), heroin dependence (p=0.001), and substance abuse and alcohol
dependence (p=0.001) during a lifetime were more frequently existing in males than those in females.
Conclusion: There are gender differences in substance use patterns and disorders that appear to be caused by the
degree of access to substances and the impacts of cultural and social aspects on men and women in Iran |
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| ISSN: | 2008-5842 2008-5842 |