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Bone Mineral Density in Young Women on Methadone Substitution

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Abstract

Little is known about bone mineral density (BMD) in patients with heroin addiction and subsequent methadone substitution. The goal of this study was to compare bone mass density of young HIV-negative women on long-term methadone treatment to a local group of young healthy women. Eleven women (aged 20–29) with previous heroin dependence and current methadone substitution (20–140 mg, median 60, daily) for 1.5–9 (median 3) years were compared to 30 healthy women (aged 20–28). Participants were examined with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry of the lumbar spine (L2–L4), of the total proximal hip area, and of the femoral neck. Patients and controls had neither current nor lifetime underweight condition, had comparable ages at menarche, and did not differ significantly in current body mass index (21.9 ± 4.0, respectively, 20.5 ± 1.5 kg/m2) in spite of a largely unhealthy lifestyle (cigarette, alcohol, and cocaine consumption in patients). Patients’ total-hip parameters were marginally lower than those of controls (BMD P = 0.054, T score P = 0.049), whereas the femoral neck and lumbar spine parameters did not differ significantly between the two groups. Long-term methadone substitution in HIV-negative women seems to slightly affect bone mass density.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank kindly the participants of the study.

Conflict of interest

The authors have stated that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Zurich, Culmannstrasse 8, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland

    Gabriella Milos

  2. Clinic for Masticatory Disorders, Removable Prosthodontics and Special Care Dentistry, Centre for Oral Medicine, Dental and Maxillo-Facial Surgery, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Luigi M. Gallo

  3. Psychiatric University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland

    Branca Sosic & Dominique Eich

  4. Osteoporosis Center, Department of Rheumatology and Institute of Physical Medicine, University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland

    Daniel Uebelhart

  5. Institute of Medical Radiology soH, Hospital Solothurn, Grenchen, Switzerland

    Gerhard Goerres

  6. Center for Rheumatology and Bone Disease, Clinic im Park, Zurich, Switzerland

    Hans-Jörg Haeuselmann

Authors
  1. Gabriella Milos
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  2. Luigi M. Gallo
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  3. Branca Sosic
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  4. Daniel Uebelhart
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  5. Gerhard Goerres
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  6. Hans-Jörg Haeuselmann
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  7. Dominique Eich
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gabriella Milos.

Additional information

Gabriella Milos, Luigi M. Gallo equally contributed to this work.

The authors have stated that they have no conflict of interest.

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Milos, G., Gallo, L.M., Sosic, B. et al. Bone Mineral Density in Young Women on Methadone Substitution. Calcif Tissue Int 89, 228–233 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00223-011-9510-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00223-011-9510-4

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