Abstract

Drug addiction has been recognized as a chronic, relapsing illness for several years. This study aims to estimate relapse rate and determine its predictors in Iran. In this prospective study, we studied 436 patients referring voluntarily to an addiction treatment center in Maragheh, Iran. We completed two questionnaires at the beginning of study and six months after cessation by conducting interviews with patients by trained interviewers. Logistic regression model was used in order to identify the predictors of relapse in our sample. After six months follow-up, we found that the relapse rate was 64.0% (CI 95%: 59.3-68.4). The results of logistic model indicate that smoking (OR=12.15), having a drug user in the family (OR=2.54), having lower hope to quit (OR=2.61), unemployment (OR=2.78) and stay connected with drug user friends after quitting (OR=46.7) were factors associated with relapse. This study similar to other studies showed a high relapse rate and determined some of its risk factors among addicts.

Keywords: Addiction; Relapse; Longitudinal study; Substance abuse; Iran