Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 7, 2026
07:47
Measuring Delay Discounting in Humans Using an Adjusting Amount Task
Published on: January 9, 2016
Delay among opioid users in seeking first addiction treatment
Carlos Ortega Muela1, María Rodríguez Mincholé2, Marta Donat López3
1Departamento de Salud Pública y Materno-Infantil. Facultad de Medicina. Universidad Complutense de Madrid. carlosortegam97@gmail.com.
Adicciones
|April 3, 2025
Summary
Early treatment seeking for opioid addiction improves success rates. This study found that older age, unemployment, homelessness, and lower education significantly delay first-time treatment for opiate addiction in Spain.
Area of Science:
- Addiction Medicine
- Public Health
- Sociology
Background:
- Early treatment seeking for opioid addiction is crucial for successful outcomes.
- Limited data exists on patient profiles and treatment-seeking delays in Spain and Europe.
- Understanding these delays is vital for improving intervention strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify individual factors associated with delayed first-time treatment seeking for opiate addiction.
- To analyze the time from onset of consumption to treatment (TTT) in a Spanish cohort.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of 366 opiate users admitted for first-time treatment in Madrid (2017-2019).
- Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to determine factors influencing TTT.
- TTT was analyzed as the time from consumption onset to treatment initiation.
Main Results:
- The typical patient was middle-aged, Spanish, unemployed, male, and a smoked heroin user.
- Median TTT was 9.27 years for men and 4.75 years for women.
- Factors associated with longer TTT included: age >49, unemployment, low education, homelessness, initial use outside the home, and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) positive status.
Conclusions:
- Delays in seeking opiate addiction treatment are linked to older age and lower socioeconomic status.
- Individuals at risk of social exclusion require prioritized interventions to facilitate treatment access.
- Targeted strategies are needed to reduce treatment-seeking delays for vulnerable populations.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:21Factors Affecting Drug Response: Overview
When it comes to infants and young children, they are typically administered smaller doses of medication in comparison to adults. This is primarily because their organ functions still need to fully develop, meaning their bodies are not as efficient at metabolizing or eliminating drugs. Additionally, their blood-brain barrier is more permeable than in adults. As a result, high concentrations of drugs can easily penetrate the central nervous system (CNS), potentially leading to neurological...
01:02Prescription, Nonprescription and Orphan Drugs
Prescription drugs require a prescription from a medical practitioner and can only be obtained from a pharmacy. They have many applications, including treating pain, anxiety, and hypertension.
The misuse and addiction to prescription drugs is a growing problem that can affect people of all age groups, specifically teenagers. This can happen when prescription medications are used in ways not intended by the prescriber, such as taking someone else's prescription or using medication for...
The misuse and addiction to prescription drugs is a growing problem that can affect people of all age groups, specifically teenagers. This can happen when prescription medications are used in ways not intended by the prescriber, such as taking someone else's prescription or using medication for...
01:15Drug Abuse and Addiction: Pharmacological Phenomena
Drug dependence, abuse, and addiction are complex phenomena that can precipitate various abnormal states. Physical dependence refers to a state of pharmacological adaptation to a drug. This adaptation often results in tolerance—a reduced response to the drug after repeated administrations. When the drug use is abruptly stopped, withdrawal symptoms occur due to the body's need to readjust from the pharmacologically induced imbalance. However, tolerance and withdrawal symptoms do not necessarily...
01:25Analgesia and Pain Management
Pain is critical to various clinical pathologies, provoking an urgent need for effective management. Pain, whether acute or chronic, is a complex neurochemical process. Its alleviation depends on the type, with nonopioid analgesics effective for mild to moderate pain, such as musculoskeletal or inflammatory pain, while neuropathic pain responds best to anticonvulsants, tricyclic antidepressants, or serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. For severe acute or chronic pain, opioids may be...
01:15Opioid Analgesics: Synthetic and Semisynthetic Opioids
Synthetic and semisynthetic opioids are pivotal in pain management and tackling opioid addiction. Semisynthetic opioids, including morphinans (morphine derivatives), oxycodone, oxymorphone, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone, have improved pharmacokinetic profiles compared to morphine. Additionally, heroin and 6-MAM (6-Monoacetylmorphine) show better CNS penetration than morphine due to heightened lipid solubility. Hydromorphone, a potent opioid, undergoes hepatic metabolism to form the active...
01:24Substance Use Disorders Affecting Sleep
Substance use disorders involve a pattern of using drugs more extensively than intended and continuing use despite harmful consequences. This includes legal substances like alcohol and nicotine, as well as illegal drugs. These disorders often involve both physical and psychological dependence, reflecting compulsive use of substances that significantly alter thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, contributing to a major public health issue.
Understanding the concepts of physical dependence,...
Understanding the concepts of physical dependence,...