• Julia R Benville, Peggy Compton, Nicholas A Giordano, and Martin D Cheatle.
• Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 3535 Market Street, Suite 500, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, United States; Department of Psychiatry, NYU School of Medicine, Bellevue Hospital, 462 First Avenue, Room A842, New York, NY 10016, United States. Electronic address: Julia.benville@nyulangone.org.
• Drug Alcohol Depend. 2021 Apr 1; 221: 108619.

BackgroundA significant predictor of treatment outcomes for patients with chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) and opioid use disorder (OUD) is the degree and quality of social support they receive. Specifically, in patients with CNCP and on long-term opioid therapy, the development of OUD tends to be associated with losses in social support, while engagement in treatment for OUD improves support networks. Delivery of the evidence-based OUD treatment medications, methadone and buprenorphine, occurs in clinical environments which patently differ with respect to social support resources. The aims of this study were to describe perceived social support in patients with CNCP without OUD (no-OUD), with OUD and on buprenorphine (OUD-BP), and with OUD and on methadone (OUD-methadone).MethodsUsing the Duke Social Support Index (DSSI), perceived social support in a sample of Caucasian patients with CNCP and on opioid therapy was compared between no-OUDs (n = 834), OUD-methadone (n = 83) and OUD-BP (n = 99) therapy. Average DSSI scores were compared across groups and a linear regression model computed to describe association between group and perceived social support.ResultsNo difference was observed in DSSI scores between no-OUDs and OUD-methadone, however scores were lower among OUD-BP participants than those receiving methadone (x = -5.2; 95% CI: -7.5, -2.9) and (x = -6.5, 95% CI: -8.2, -4.9).ConclusionsPatients with CNCP and OUD on methadone therapy endorse levels of social support comparable to those without OUD, however those on buprenorphine therapy report significantly less support, bringing implications for OUD treatment outcomes.Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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