Gender difference in the treatment outcome of patients served in the mixed-gender program

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine whether the treatment outcome differs for males and females in the mixed-gender methadone maintenance program. A prospective non-randomized study was performed to evaluate the efficiency of the treatment over a period of 6 months. In this study, 91 patients (60 male and 31 female) were included and the groups were compared by the variables such as relapses, frequency of relapses, type of substance used and the manner of drug use. The results showed that 16 (51.6%) female addicts had 147 relapses and 23 (38.3%) male addicts had 118 relapses, but these differences were statistically not significant. Women made a significant relapse 43.7% more than men 21.7%, with heroine alone. The injectable drug abuse dominates in both genders, i.e. 56.2% of female examinees and 69.6% of male examinees injected the drugs, but this difference was not statistically proven. Conclusion: Gender has an influence on the response to the treatment. The outcome of the treatment measured through the drug use differs in the substance used. Women use more heroine than men, who in turn use more combinations of different drugs and legal psychoactive substances during the treatment