Methadone Patients Satisfaction with Quality of Life - A Clinical Correlation

Background: Chronic pain disrupts sleep and has been identified as a symptom that impairs quality of life.

Objectives: Evaluate how subjective satisfaction of life correlates with clinically known parameters such as sleep patterns, pain levels, infectious disease status (Heptatitis C and HIV), urine screening for benzodiazepines, cocaine, and morphine, and methadone dose in patients receiving methadone maintenance therapy.

Methods: De-identified and retrospective clinical data was extracted from a Canadian methadone clinic. Data including insomnia severity index, brief pain inventory, satisfaction with quality of life, outcomes of urine screening tests, and hepatitis C and HIV status.

Results: Number of years of opiate use was positively correlated with average pain levels (r=0.39). Average pain levels (r=.29) and worst pain levels (r=.28) were positively correlated to insomnia. Level of satisfaction with life is inversely correlated with insomnia(r=-0.37). The total score on the insomnia index was inversely correlated to hepatitis C status (r=-.32).

Conclusion: Patients who had been using opiates for longer periods reported higher levels of pain. Patients with higher levels of pain reported more symptoms of insomnia. Patients with more symptoms of insomnia were less satisfied with their quality of life. Those positive for hepatitis C reported lower levels of insomnia.

Keywords: Insomnia, Pain, Methadone, Quality of Life.