Table 1 Demographic and clinical differences between harm reduction treatment and opioid agonist treatment patients
| Â | HRT strategy NÂ =Â 189 | OAT strategy NÂ =Â 58 | T/chi | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Demographics | ||||
 Age, M ± sd | 30.41 ± 6.3 | 44.14 ± 8.7 | −11.09 | 0.000 |
 Gender (females), N (%) | 33 (17.5) | 23 (39.7) | 12.47 | 0.000 |
 Education (low), N (%) | 120 (63.5) | 49 (87.5) | 11.63 | 0.001 |
 Single, N (%) | 131 (70.1) | 41 (73.2) | 0.20 | 0.648 |
 Unemployed, N (%) | 66 (35.1) | 19 (32.8) | 4.77 | 0.189 |
 Income (adequate), N (%) | 151 (79.9) | 54 (93.1) | 5.48 | 0.019 |
 Welfare benefit, N (%) | 3 (1.6) | 20 (34.5) | 56.87 | 0.000 |
 Living alone, N (%) | 19 (10.1) | 29 (50.0) | 45.23 | 0.000 |
Clinical features at treatment entry | ||||
 Age heroin first use, M ± sd | 18.64 ± 4.1 | 19.69 ± 5.1 | −1.59 | 0.112 |
 Age of continuous use, M ± sd | 21.33 ± 4.5 | 23.02 ± 6.0 | −1.96 | 0.053 |
 Dependence length (years), M ± sd | 7.30 ± 5.7 | 22.00 ± 9.1 | −11.60 | 0.000 |
 Age first treatment, M ± sd | 24.72 ± 4.9 | 25.36 ± 6.3 | −0.75 | 0.477 |
 Somatic complications, presence, N (%) | 130 (68.8) | 51 (89.5) | 9.64 | 0.002 |
 Altered mental status, presence, N (%) | 139 (73.5) | 55 (98.2) | 15.95 | 0.000 |
 Job concerns, presence, N (%) | 77 (41.6) | 35 (66.0) | 9.85 | 0.002 |
 Household concerns, presence, N (%) | 57 (30.5) | 33 (57.9) | 14.10 | 0.000 |
 Loving concerns, presence, N (%) | 64 (33.9) | 38 (66.7) | 19.41 | 0.000 |
 Social-leisure concerns, presence, N (%) | 74 (39.2) | 33 (57.9) | 6.25 | 0.012 |
 Legal problems, presence, N (%) | 56 (29.6) | 36 (62.1) | 19.98 | 0.000 |
 Polyabuse, presence, N (%) | 77 (40.7) | 16 (28.6) | 2.71 | 0.099 |
 Past treated, N (%) | 161 (85.2) | 58 (100.0) | 9.52 | 0.002 |
 Combined treatments, N (%) | 164 (86.8) | 54 (94.7) | 2.75 | 0.097 |
 Heroin intake, daily or more, N (%) | 113 (59.8) | 41 (70.7) | 2.24 | 0.134 |
 Modality of use, unstable, N (%) | 58 (30.7) | 16 (28.1) | 0.14 | 0.706 |
 Periodic self detoxifications, N (%) | 137 (72.5) | 49 (84.5) | 3.43 | 0.064 |
 Stage 3 reached, N (%) | 147 (77.8) | 46 (79.3) | 0.06 | 0.805 |
 Dual diagnosis, presence, N (%) | 108 (57.1) | 32 (55.2) | 0.07 | 0.791 |
 Observational period (months), M ± sd | 13.34 ± 3.0 | 18.68 ± 3.8 | −9.69 | 0.000 |
Substitution medications | HRT strategy | OAT strategy | z* | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
NÂ =Â 102 | NÂ =Â 43 | |||
Methadone dose, M ± sd | 67.21 ± 25.8 | 53.12 ± 25.9 | −2.65 | 0.008 |
| Â | NÂ =Â 87 | NÂ =Â 15 | Â | Â |
Buprenorphine dose, M ± sd | 7.29 ± 4.2 | 6.47 ± 4.4 | −0.94 | 0.343 |