Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Journal of Substance Use, 2025 (SSCI, Scopus)
Objective: To examine clinical factors associated with craving in patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) in remission. Method: In this cross-sectional study, 595 patients receiving buprenorphine-naloxone (B/N) maintenance therapy for at least one month were included. Participants completed a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Substance Craving Scale (SCS), and provided urine samples for toxicological analysis. Results: The mean age was 34.5 years, and 10.6% were female. The median B/N dose was 10 mg/day, and the median duration of B/N use was 30 months. Lower SCS scores were associated with longer B/N use and higher urinary B/N levels (r=–0.253, p < 0.001, r=–0.100, p = 0.015). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that poor family relations (β = 0.234, p < 0.001), pregabalin abuse (β = 0.164, p < 0.001), exposure to substance-use environments (β = 0.121, p = 0.003), contact with substance-using friends (β = 0.109, p = 0.008), drug use in a relative (β = 0.104, p = 0.005), intravenous heroin use (β = 0.120, p = 0.002), suicide attempt (β = 0.100, p = 0.024), amphetamine in urine (β = 0.109, p = 0.004), buprenorphine in urine (β = −0.130, p < 0.001), sex (β = −0.104, p = 0.006), self-mutilation (β = −0.108, p = 0.010), and duration of abstinence (β = −0.106, p = 0.006) were significant predictors of craving. Conclusion: Urinary B/N levels may serve as a potential biomarker for predicting craving in patients with OUD. Further longitudinal studies are needed to confirm this finding.