Dyadic association between support persons' attitudes towards medication for opioid use disorder and patients' mental health outcomes.

Support persons' changes in stigmatizing attitudes towards buprenorphine were significantly associated with patients' depressive symptoms at 3-month follow-up.

• Analysis used ordinary least squares regression models adjusted for patients' sociodemographic characteristics and baseline symptoms.
• The association was statistically significant (χ2 = 10.95, P = 0.012).
• Sample consisted of 356 dyads from a cohort of patients receiving buprenorphine from community health centers in California.
• Support persons included partners, family members, or friends accompanying patients.

Support persons' changes in stigmatizing attitudes towards buprenorphine were significantly associated with patients' anxiety symptoms at 3-month follow-up.

• The association was statistically significant (χ2 = 14.40, P = 0.002).
• Models were adjusted for patients' sociodemographic characteristics and baseline symptoms.
• Longitudinal, dyadic data were analyzed from a cohort study design.

Patients whose support person reported increased stigma towards buprenorphine had the highest estimated probability of clinically significant depressive symptoms.

• Estimated probability of clinically significant depressive symptoms was 36.7% (95% CI: 21.2, 52.1) for patients whose support person reported increased stigma.
• Logistic regression models were used to estimate the probability of clinically significant symptoms to aid in clinical interpretability.
• This group had the highest estimated probability compared to patients whose support persons reported stable or decreased stigma.

Patients whose support person reported increased stigma towards buprenorphine had the highest estimated probability of clinically significant anxiety symptoms.

• Estimated probability of clinically significant anxiety symptoms was 33.3% (95% CI: 18.7, 47.9) for patients whose support person reported increased stigma.
• This group had the highest estimated probability of anxiety compared to patients whose support persons reported stable or decreased stigma.
• Logistic regression models were used to estimate the probability of clinically significant symptoms.

Nearly one in three adults with opioid use disorder has co-occurring depression or anxiety, and stigma towards medication for OUD has been identified as a barrier to treatment initiation and retention.

• The paper notes that pervasive stigma towards medication for OUD (MOUD) has been identified as a barrier to OUD treatment initiation and retention.
• Whether stigma also complicates patient mental health outcomes was described as unclear prior to this study.
• The study focused on buprenorphine, a medication for opioid use disorder obtained from community health centers in California.