Improved quality of life, clinical, and psychosocial outcomes among heroin-dependent patients on ambulatory buprenorphine maintenance.

Aim: A prospective longitudinal design was employed to examine the effects of buprenorphine maintenance on quality of life (QOL), clinical, and psychosocial characteristics of heroin-dependent patients.

Method: Between 2003 and 2005 data were collected on 259 patients attending the outpatient centers for treatment of drug addictions across Israel, of which 157 were reevaluated 16 weeks later and 105 reevaluated 32 weeks later using the Clinical Global Impression, Distress Scale for Adverse Symptoms, Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire, General Health Questionnaire, General Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to examine the association between the parameters and the cross-sectional and longitudinal predictions of the QOL outcomes.