Quality of Life Among Drug-Dependent and Non-Drug Dependent Individuals in Iran

Drug dependency is one of the most important issues in any society and it is among the most widespread health risk factors.
This study was conducted to determine quality of life in drug- dependent individuals, who were under methadone treatment, and non-drug dependent persons in Shahroud (northeast of Iran).
In this comparative study, 266 drug dependent participants and 541 non-drug dependent participants were studied in 2014. The Persian version of SF-36 Quality of Life Questionnaire was used to collect data. The data were analyzed using chi square test, t test, and ANOVA.
The majority of the participants (77.1%) in both groups were male. The mean age of drug-dependent participants was 37.6 ± 10.7, the mean duration of drug dependency was 12.0 ± 9.3 years, and the mean duration of treatment in methadone maintenance treatment centers (MMT) was 24.6 ± 22.6 months. No significant difference (P > 0.05) was observed between the 2 groups in any aspects of quality of life other than the vitality (P = 0.001).
In this study, quality of life scores were not significantly different between drug dependent and non-dependent participants. It seems that treatment with the use of methadone and buprenorphine can play a good role in improving quality of life of addicts.