Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Public Health 2251-6085 43 8 2014 08 15 1022 32 Sepideh Nabipour 1. Dept. of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Mas Ayu Said 1. Dept. of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Mohd Hussain Habil 2. Dept. of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 2015 10 15 Addiction to the illicit and prescribed use of opiate is an alarming public health issue. Studies on addictive disorders have demonstrated severe nutritional deficiencies in opiate abusers with behavioral, physiological and cognitive symptoms. Opiate addiction is also link with a significant number of diseases including Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and other blood borne diseases generally stem from the use of needles to inject heroin. The use of medication assisted treatment for opioid addicts in combination with behavioural therapies has been considered as a highly effective treatment. Methadone is a long-lasting μ-opioid agonist and a pharmacological tool which attenuates withdrawal symptoms effectively replacement therapies. This review article aims to explain opiate addiction mechanisms, epidemiology and disease burden with emphasis on dietary and nutritional status of opiate dependent patients in methadone maintenance therapy. https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/view/3951 https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/download/3951/3610