Patterns of medical comorbidities among aging people receiving heroin-assisted treatment: A 10-year single-center repeated cross-sectional study.

David Strittmatter, Dario Willi, Peer W Brandt, Sonja Loebnitz, Eveline Hofmann, Maria Christine Thurnheer

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Drug and alcohol dependence reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

David StrittmatterDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland.

Dario WilliDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland.

Peer W BrandtKODA Bern, Behandlungszentren für Suchtmedizin BZS, Belpstrasse, Bern 3007, Switzerland.

Sonja LoebnitzKODA Bern, Behandlungszentren für Suchtmedizin BZS, Belpstrasse, Bern 3007, Switzerland.

Eveline HofmannDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland.

Maria Christine ThurnheerDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: This study examined the patterns of medical comorbidities among aging people who use drugs (PWUD) enrolled in a heroin-assisted treatment (HAT) program in Bern, Switzerland, over ten years. Methods: Cross-sectional assessments were conducted at a single HAT center in 2009 (n = 200), 2012 (n = 215), and 2019 (n = 203). A group of long-term participants (n = 102) present at all three time points was identified and compared to other participants over time. Data on demographics; infectious, psychiatric, and medical comorbidities; substance use; and opioid agonist treatment (OAT) were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression. Results: In 2019, the median age of long-term participants was 52 years, one-third of patients were women. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA positivity declined from 50/102 (49%) in 2009 to 10/102 (9.8%) in 2019, whereas HIV prevalence remained stable at 12% with high treatment uptake. Medical multimorbidity (≥2 medical comorbidities) increased from 8.8% to 37.3% ( Conclusions: Over 10 years, prevalence of active HCV infection among PWUD in long-term HAT declined, whereas non-communicable diseases increased. Integrated care models combining OAT with medical services are essential to meet the evolving health needs of this population.

Indexed as

Access to health careHarm reductionHeroin agonist treatmentIntegrated careNon-communicable diseasesOpioid agonist treatmentPeople who use drugs

Identifiers

PMID42005514

DOI10.1016/j.dadr.2026.100435

PMCPMC13091449

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