Longer treatment with medications for opioid use disorder is associated with greater probability of survival
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Latest funded news by National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 21-Jun-2026 13:16 ET (21-Jun-2026 17:16 GMT/UTC)
A new study of over 32,000 US Veterans has found that the longer people stay on medications for opioid use disorder (buprenorphine, methadone, or extended-release naltrexone), the greater the probability of short- and medium-term survival. This benefit continues to increase at least for four years of ongoing treatment, considerably longer than most patients currently stay in treatment.