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Contraceptive use and pregnancy outcomes among opioid drug-using women : a retrospective cohort study.

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Cornford, Charles S., Close, Helen J., Bray, Roz, Beere, Deborah and Mason, James (2015) Contraceptive use and pregnancy outcomes among opioid drug-using women : a retrospective cohort study. PLoS One, 10 (3). e0116231. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0116231 ISSN 1932-6203.

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0116231

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Abstract

Objective: The contraceptive needs of illicit opioid users differ from non-drug users but are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to describe contraceptive use and pregnancy outcomes in opioid-using women, and to examine their association with a range of risk factors.

Method: This retrospective cohort study used UK general practice records, Treatment Outcomes Profile and National Drug Treatment Monitoring System data, and a nested data validation exercise. A cohort of 376 women aged 20–61 years were in active treatment for opioid addiction in October 2010 at two specialised primary care practices in North-East England. Outcomes were age-adjusted prevalence estimates for contraceptive use and pregnancy outcomes in users of illicit opioids. The association between lifestyle-related risk factors and contraception was explored.

Results: Drug-using women made lower use of planned (non-condom) contraception (24% vs 50%, p<0.001), had more frequent pregnancy terminations (0.46 vs. 0.025, p = 0.004) and higher annual incidence of chlamydia (1.1% vs. 0.33%, p<0.001), when compared with age-matched population data. Specifically, there was low use of oral contraceptives (4% vs. 25%, p<0.001), IUCD (1% vs. 6%, p<0.001), and sterilisation (7% vs. 6%, p = 0.053), but higher rates of injectable contraceptives (6% vs. 3%, p = 0.003). A total of 64% of children aged <16 years born to this group did not live with their mother. No individual risk factor (such as sex-working) significantly explained the lower use or type of non-condom contraception.

Conclusions: This is the first study to describe planned contraceptive use among drug-users, as well as the association with a range of risk factors and pregnancy outcomes. The low uptake of planned contraception, set against high rates of terminations and sexually transmitted disease demonstrates the urgent clinical need to improve contraceptive services, informed by qualitative work to explore the values and beliefs influencing low contraceptive uptake.

Item Type: Journal Article
Divisions: Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School > Health Sciences
Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School
Journal or Publication Title: PLoS One
Publisher: Public Library of Science
ISSN: 1932-6203
Official Date: 4 March 2015
Dates:
DateEvent
4 March 2015Published
5 December 2014Accepted
Volume: 10
Number: 3
Article Number: e0116231
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0116231
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
Access rights to Published version: Open Access (Creative Commons)

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