Risk factors for relapse among methamphetamine users receiving a joint legal-medical treatment program as a diversion...

Methamphetamine (METH) is a Schedule II illicit drug in Taiwan. A 12-month legal-medical joint intervention program has been developed for first-time METH offenders during deferred prosecution. Risk factors associated with METH relapse use among these individuals were unknown.

We enrolled a total of 449 METH offenders referred by the Taipei District Prosecutor's Office to Taipei City Psychiatric Center. The study defines relapse as having any positive urine toxicology result or self-report of METH use during 12-month treatment. We compared demographic and clinical variables between a relapse group and nonrelapse group and used a Cox proportional hazards model to determine variables associated with time to relapse.

Of all participants, 37.8 % relapsed to use METH and 23.2 % were noncompleters in the one-year follow-up. Compared to the nonrelapse group, the relapse group had lower educational attainment, more severe psychological symptoms, longer duration of METH use, higher odds of polysubstance use, higher craving severity, and higher odds of positive baseline urine. The Cox analysis revealed individuals with positive urine results and higher craving severity at baseline were at higher risks of METH relapse (hazard ratio [95 % CI]: 3.85 [2.61-5.68] and 1.71 [1.19-2.46], respectively, p < 0.001). Baseline positive urine results and high craving could also predict a shorter length of time to relapse than their respective counterparts.

Positive urine screening for METH at baseline and high craving severity are two indicators of an increased risk of drug relapse. Tailored treatment plans incorporating these findings to prevent relapse are warranted in our joint intervention program.