Early treatment time course of depressive symptoms in opiate addicts.

Self-reported depressive symptoms of opiate addicts were assessed at admission to a methadone treatment program and weekly during the first 4 treatment weeks using the Beck Depression Inventory. A significant decline in scores was found to occur with the first follow-up evaluation done 7 days after admission, with scores remaining stable over subsequent weeks. The study suggests that a more accurate assessment of psychiatric symptoms may be obtained by waiting 1 to 2 weeks after treatment entry as compared with admission assessments.