Similar COVID-19 incidence to the general population in people with opioid use disorder receiving integrated outpatient clinical care

• Published in: Drug and alcohol dependence reports 2022-03, Vol.2, p.100027-100027, Article 100027
• Main Authors: Vallecillo, Gabriel, Fonseca, Francina, Oviedo, Lina, Durán, Xavier, Martinez, Ignacio, García-Guix, Alexandra, Castillo, Claudio, Torrens, Marta, Llana, Santiago, Roquer, Albert, Martinez, Maria de la Cabeza, Aguelo, Sandra, Canosa, Irene
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2772-7246; 2772-7246
• DOI: 10.1016/j.dadr.2022.100027

•Opioid use disorder (OUD) patients in an integrated clinical approach had similar incidence of COVID-19 as general population.•Cardiovascular diseases are more prevalent in (OUD) and COVID-19 infection.•Comprehensive healthcare is essential in OUD to prevent clinical impact of COVID-19. During the COVID-19 pandemic, limited access to health care augmented COVID-19 risk in subjects with opioid use disorder (OUD). The aim of the study was to compare COVID-19 incidence in individuals with OUD receiving continuous clinical care with that of the general population. A prospective cohort study was carried out from March 2020 to March 2021 comparing COVID-19 cumulative incidence of individuals presenting an OUD receiving integrated clinical care with that of an age-reference general population, in three public outpatient treatment centers for addiction in Barcelona, Spain. Over the study period, 366 individuals received clinical care. Mean age: 48.2±8.9 years, 280 (76.5%) were men and 283 (77.3%) native Spanish. All subjects were on opioid agonist therapy. Prevalence of communicable diseases were: HIV infection in 109 (29.8%) and hepatitis C in 46 (12.6%). Psychiatric comorbidity was present in 207 (56.6%), and 119 (32.5%) had >1 chronic medical disease. a cumulative incidence of 2,732 casesx100,000 people/year (C.I.95%: 1,318–4,967). There were no differences compared to the age-general population: 2,856 casesx100,000 people/year (C.I.95%: 2,830–2,880) (p=0.81). In the bivariate analysis, hypertension (5[50.0%] vs. 53[14.9%], p=0.01) and cardiovascular chronic diseases (2 [20.0%] vs. 8 [2.2%], p=0.03) were more prevalent in patients with OUD and COVID-19. Individuals with OUD who received integrated clinical care had a COVID-19 incidence comparable to the general population. Ensuring comprehensive healthcare is essential to prevent the clinical impact of COVID-19 on individuals with OUD.