CAHSS Faculty Articles
Patterns of Prescription Opioid Abuse and Comorbidity in an Aging Treatment Population
ORCID ID
0000-0002-4716-3398, 0000-0003-4027-7840
ResearcherID
K-3072-2014, H-3010-2014
Publication Title
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
ISSN
0740-5472
Publication Date
1-1-2012
Abstract
Very little is known about the impact of age and gender on drug abuse treatment needs. To examine this, we recruited 2,573 opioid-dependent patients, aged from 18 to 75 years, entering treatment across the country from 2008 to 2010 to complete a self-administered survey examining drug use histories and the extent of comorbid psychiatric and physical disorders. Moderate to very severe pain and psychiatric disorders, including polysubstance abuse, were present in a significant fraction of 18- to 24-year-olds, but their severity grew exponentially as a function of age: 75% of those older than 45 years had debilitating pain and psychiatric problems. Women had more pain than men and much worse psychiatric issues in all age groups. Our results indicate that a "one-size-fits-all" approach to prevention, intervention, and treatment of opioid abuse that ignores the shifting needs of opioid-abusing men and women as they age is destined to fail.
DOI
10.1016/j.jsat.2011.07.003
Volume
42
Issue
1
First Page
87
Last Page
94
NSUWorks Citation
Cicero, T. J., Surratt, H. L., Kurtz, S. P., Ellis, M., & Inciardi, J. (2012). Patterns of Prescription Opioid Abuse and Comorbidity in an Aging Treatment Population. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 42 (1), 87-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2011.07.003
