{"id":24005,"date":"2026-05-04T16:13:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T20:13:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/?post_type=journal_article&p=24005"},"modified":"2026-05-19T09:57:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T13:57:09","slug":"methadone-is-associated-with-superior-long-term-treatment-retention-compared-with-buprenorphine-naloxone-in-a-large-canadian-cohort","status":"publish","type":"journal_article","link":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/publications\/journal-articles\/methadone-is-associated-with-superior-long-term-treatment-retention-compared-with-buprenorphine-naloxone-in-a-large-canadian-cohort\/","title":{"rendered":"Methadone is associated with superior long-term treatment retention compared with buprenorphine\/naloxone in a large Canadian cohort"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/strong> \u2014 We aimed to compare the effectiveness of methadone and sublingual buprenorphine\/naloxone and their association with treatment discontinuation using real-world data from Ontario, Canada.<\/p>\n

Methods<\/strong> \u2014 We conducted a longitudinal retrospective cohort study utilizing linked, population-level administrative databases in Ontario. We included data on all Ontario residents with an
\nindication of opioid use disorder (OUD) between January 1, 2014, and a maximum follow-up of
\nDecember 31, 2022 (n = 45,230). We defined exposure groups as methadone and buprenorphine,
\nand the primary outcome was treatment discontinuation. We applied propensity score matching
\nwas applied to compare treatment discontinuation outcomes between patients initiating
\nmethadone or buprenorphine\/naloxone, controlling for demographics and clinical measures. We
\nincorporated various databases, including the Narcotics Monitoring System, Discharge Abstract
\nDatabase, and the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System, and analyzed repeated treatment
\nwindows to evaluate healthcare utilization and treatment patterns across Ontario\u2019s diverse
\ngeographic regions.<\/p>\n

Results<\/strong> \u2014 From 2014 to 2022, 45,230 people with OUD contributed case or control windows. During the first 30 days of treatment, buprenorphine was associated with lower discontinuation compared with matched methadone controls (61% vs. 57.7% retained at day 30). However, beyond 60 days, methadone demonstrated lower discontinuation, with Cox proportional hazards model indicating a lower risk of treatment discontinuation. We also observed lower discontinuation time among individuals in rural and remote Northern areas. Cox proportional hazards models confirm time-varying effects, with unadjusted HR 0.95 [0.94\u20130.96] and fully adjusted HRs ranging from 1.03 [1.02\u20131.04] to 1.09 [1.05\u20131.12], and rural\/remote Northern areas show longer time to discontinuation.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong> \u2014 Our study highlights the importance of considering both medication type and geographic location when developing strategies to improve treatment retention for individuals with opioid use disorder.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Introduction \u2014 We aimed to compare the effectiveness of methadone and sublingual buprenorphine\/naloxone and their association with treatment discontinuation using real-world data from Ontario, Canada. Methods \u2014 We conducted a longitudinal retrospective cohort study utilizing linked, population-level administrative databases in Ontario. We included data on all Ontario residents with an indication of opioid use disorder […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","migration-helper-automated":[],"migration-manual":[],"topic":[34,56],"migration-helper-qa-sample-set":[],"class_list":["post-24005","journal_article","type-journal_article","status-publish","hentry","topic-mental-health-and-addictions","topic-pharmacoepidemiology-and-drug-safety"],"acf":{"citation":"Morin KA, Tatangelo M, Acharya S, Labrosse D, Leary T, Thiyagaratnam D, Nosyk B, Marsh DC. J Stud Alcohol Drugs<\/em>. 2026; May 4 [Epub ahead of print].","source_url":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.15288\/jsad.26-00065","ices_scientist":[1313,24016],"site":[6738],"research_program":[6744],"news_release":"","journal_article":"","atlas":"","research_report":"","infographic":"","video":"","downloads":null,"links":null,"sitecore_item_id":"","sitecore_item_name":"","sitecore_field_values":"","previous_url":""},"yoast_head":"\nICES | Methadone is associated with superior long-term treatment retention compared with buprenorphine\/naloxone in a large Canadian cohort<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Introduction \u2014 We aimed to compare the effectiveness of methadone and sublingual buprenorphine\/naloxone and their association with treatment\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/publications\/journal-articles\/methadone-is-associated-with-superior-long-term-treatment-retention-compared-with-buprenorphine-naloxone-in-a-large-canadian-cohort\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ICES | Methadone is associated with superior long-term treatment retention compared with buprenorphine\/naloxone in a large Canadian cohort\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Introduction \u2014 We aimed to compare the effectiveness of methadone and sublingual buprenorphine\/naloxone and their association with treatment\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/publications\/journal-articles\/methadone-is-associated-with-superior-long-term-treatment-retention-compared-with-buprenorphine-naloxone-in-a-large-canadian-cohort\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ICES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ICESOntario\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-19T13:57:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/ic-es-data-discovery-better-health-logo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/publications\\\/journal-articles\\\/methadone-is-associated-with-superior-long-term-treatment-retention-compared-with-buprenorphine-naloxone-in-a-large-canadian-cohort\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/publications\\\/journal-articles\\\/methadone-is-associated-with-superior-long-term-treatment-retention-compared-with-buprenorphine-naloxone-in-a-large-canadian-cohort\\\/\",\"name\":\"ICES | Methadone is associated with superior long-term treatment retention compared with buprenorphine\\\/naloxone in a large Canadian cohort\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-04T20:13:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-19T13:57:09+00:00\",\"description\":\"Introduction \u2014 We aimed to compare the effectiveness of methadone and sublingual buprenorphine\\\/naloxone and their association with treatment\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/publications\\\/journal-articles\\\/methadone-is-associated-with-superior-long-term-treatment-retention-compared-with-buprenorphine-naloxone-in-a-large-canadian-cohort\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/publications\\\/journal-articles\\\/methadone-is-associated-with-superior-long-term-treatment-retention-compared-with-buprenorphine-naloxone-in-a-large-canadian-cohort\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/publications\\\/journal-articles\\\/methadone-is-associated-with-superior-long-term-treatment-retention-compared-with-buprenorphine-naloxone-in-a-large-canadian-cohort\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Journal Articles\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/publications\\\/journal-articles\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Methadone is associated with superior long-term treatment retention compared with buprenorphine\\\/naloxone in a large Canadian cohort\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/\",\"name\":\"ICES\",\"description\":\"POPULATION-BASED HEALTH RESEARCH THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"ICES\",\"alternateName\":\"Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/ices-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/ices-logo.png\",\"width\":\"676\",\"height\":\"618\",\"caption\":\"ICES\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/ICESOntario\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/ices-research-institute\\\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"ICES | Methadone is associated with superior long-term treatment retention compared with buprenorphine\/naloxone in a large Canadian cohort","description":"Introduction \u2014 We aimed to compare the effectiveness of methadone and sublingual buprenorphine\/naloxone and their association with treatment","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/publications\/journal-articles\/methadone-is-associated-with-superior-long-term-treatment-retention-compared-with-buprenorphine-naloxone-in-a-large-canadian-cohort\/","og_locale":"fr_FR","og_type":"article","og_title":"ICES | Methadone is associated with superior long-term treatment retention compared with buprenorphine\/naloxone in a large Canadian cohort","og_description":"Introduction \u2014 We aimed to compare the effectiveness of methadone and sublingual buprenorphine\/naloxone and their association with treatment","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/publications\/journal-articles\/methadone-is-associated-with-superior-long-term-treatment-retention-compared-with-buprenorphine-naloxone-in-a-large-canadian-cohort\/","og_site_name":"ICES","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ICESOntario\/","article_modified_time":"2026-05-19T13:57:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":675,"url":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/ic-es-data-discovery-better-health-logo.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/publications\/journal-articles\/methadone-is-associated-with-superior-long-term-treatment-retention-compared-with-buprenorphine-naloxone-in-a-large-canadian-cohort\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/publications\/journal-articles\/methadone-is-associated-with-superior-long-term-treatment-retention-compared-with-buprenorphine-naloxone-in-a-large-canadian-cohort\/","name":"ICES | Methadone is associated with superior long-term treatment retention compared with buprenorphine\/naloxone in a large Canadian cohort","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-05-04T20:13:06+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-19T13:57:09+00:00","description":"Introduction \u2014 We aimed to compare the effectiveness of methadone and sublingual buprenorphine\/naloxone and their association with treatment","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/publications\/journal-articles\/methadone-is-associated-with-superior-long-term-treatment-retention-compared-with-buprenorphine-naloxone-in-a-large-canadian-cohort\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/publications\/journal-articles\/methadone-is-associated-with-superior-long-term-treatment-retention-compared-with-buprenorphine-naloxone-in-a-large-canadian-cohort\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/publications\/journal-articles\/methadone-is-associated-with-superior-long-term-treatment-retention-compared-with-buprenorphine-naloxone-in-a-large-canadian-cohort\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Journal Articles","item":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/publications\/journal-articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Methadone is associated with superior long-term treatment retention compared with buprenorphine\/naloxone in a large Canadian cohort"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/","name":"ICES","description":"POPULATION-BASED HEALTH RESEARCH THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/#organization"},"alternateName":"Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"fr-FR"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/#organization","name":"ICES","alternateName":"Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences","url":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/ices-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/ices-logo.png","width":"676","height":"618","caption":"ICES"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ICESOntario\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ices-research-institute\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/journal_article\/24005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/journal_article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/journal_article"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research_program\/6744"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/site\/6738"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ices_scientist\/24016"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ices_scientist\/1313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"migration-helper-automated","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/migration-helper-automated?post=24005"},{"taxonomy":"migration-manual","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/migration-manual?post=24005"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=24005"},{"taxonomy":"migration-helper-qa-sample-set","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/migration-helper-qa-sample-set?post=24005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}