Medical Toxicology and Drug Abuse Research Center (MTDRC), Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.
Student Research Committee, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.
Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2020 Apr 17;15(1):30. doi: 10.1186/s13011-020-00272-8.
In Iran, as in many other Asian and Middle Eastern countries, some believe that opium has beneficial effects on cardiovascular system. Dependent patients suppose that opium has positive effects on cardiovascular function and can prevent or improve cardiovascular diseases; however, only few comprehensive studies evaluating such effects have been performed.
In this study, we sought to clarify the effect of opium on cardiovascular problems by incorporating the previous findings and the current information on the issue and to explain the possible mechanisms of this effect.
The available human studies published up to October 30, 2019, were searched in different databases. Case-control, cohort, and cross-sectional studies were retrieved. Papers published in English or those with an English abstract were included. The risk of bias for each included study was assessed based on the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). We then categorized the effects of opium on cardiovascular problems along with its probable underlying mechanisms of action.
In this study, most of the published articles suggested the adverse effects of opium on the cardiovascular system, including atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, low ejection fraction, and cardiovascular mortality; however, some articles reported the beneficial or impartial effects of opium on the cardiovascular system. In this article, we have categorized all the effects of opium on cardiovascular system; also, the proposed mechanisms of action of opium in each of the above-mentioned disorders are summarized.
Although the available evidences were incoherent, it was mostly suggested that opium use does not protect against or improve cardiovascular problems.
在伊朗，与许多其他亚洲和中东国家一样，一些人认为鸦片对心血管系统有有益的影响。依赖者认为鸦片对心血管功能有积极影响，可以预防或改善心血管疾病；然而，仅有少数全面的研究评估了这种影响。
在这项研究中，我们试图通过整合以前的发现和当前关于这个问题的信息，阐明鸦片对心血管问题的影响，并解释这种影响的可能机制。
搜索了截至 2019 年 10 月 30 日在不同数据库中发表的可用人类研究。检索了病例对照、队列和横断面研究。包括发表在英语或有英文摘要的论文。根据纽卡斯尔-渥太华量表（NOS）评估纳入研究的偏倚风险。然后，我们根据可能的作用机制，将鸦片对心血管问题的影响进行了分类。
在这项研究中，大多数已发表的文章表明鸦片对心血管系统有不良影响，包括动脉粥样硬化、心肌梗死、心律失常、射血分数降低和心血管死亡率；然而，一些文章报道了鸦片对心血管系统有益或无影响。在本文中，我们对鸦片对心血管系统的所有影响进行了分类；此外，还总结了鸦片在上述每种疾病中的作用机制。
尽管现有证据不一致，但大多数研究表明，鸦片的使用并不能预防或改善心血管问题。
