Sexual Inactivity in Methadone Maintenance Treatment Patients

Fitri Fareez Ramli, Tg Mohd Ikhwan Tg Abu Bakar Sidik and Isa Naina Mohamed
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Fitri Fareez Ramli: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia
Tg Mohd Ikhwan Tg Abu Bakar Sidik: Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety Unit, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia
Isa Naina Mohamed: Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety Unit, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 6, 1-8

Abstract: Sexual dysfunction has been extensively studied in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) patients. However, little data is available regarding sexual inactivity in the MMT patient population. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence and putative risk factors for sexual inactivity in the MMT patient population. This cross-sectional study involved 25–71 year old MMT patients recruited from six methadone clinics. Two hundred and seventy-one patients were interviewed for demographic characteristics, comorbidities, concurrent medications used, and sexual activity. The prevalence of sexual inactivity in the MMT population was found to be 47.6%. Increasing age ( p < 0.01) and being single/divorced ( p < 0.01) were significantly associated with sexual inactivity. In subgroup analysis, increasing age was significantly associated with sexual inactivity in both single/divorced ( p < 0.05) and married ( p < 0.05) subgroups, while unemployment ( p < 0.05) was only significantly associated with sexual inactivity in the earlier subgroup. Our results suggest that sexual inactivity is common in the MMT patient population. The putative risk factors are related to biological and sociocultural factors. Having specific comorbidities or being on certain medications were not correlated with sexual inactivity in the MMT population. Routine assessment of sexual problems is essential, and proper management should be performed for MMT patients.

Keywords: sexual inactivity; methadone; opioid use disorder (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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