Monday, October 26, 2015

JAMA article highlights trends of nonmedical prescription opioid use and use disorders

SAMHSA, October 13, 2015

"Today the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published an article which indicates that while the percentage of nonmedical use of prescription opioids has decreased, the prevalence of prescription opioid use disorders, high-frequency use, and related mortality increased among adults aged 18-64 in the United States.

The article is based on analysis conducted by researchers at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The article shows that nonmedical use of prescription opioids among people aged 18 to 64 decreased from 5.4 percent in 2003 to 4.9 percent in 2013. However, the article shows that there have been increases in the following problems among adults aged 18-64 over the year:

  • Prevalence of prescription opioid use disorders (dependence or abuse) increased from 0.6 percent in 2003 to 0.9 percent in 2013.
  • Prevalence of high frequency use (200 days or more) increased from 0.3 percent in 2003 to 0.4 percent in 2013.
  • The mean number of days of nonmedical use of prescription opioids increased from 2.1 days in 2003 to 2.6 days in 2013.
  • Drug overdose death rates involving prescription opioids increased from 4.5 deaths per 100,000 people in 2003 to 7.8 per 100,000 people in 2013." Read more

For resources to talk to your child about the dangers of prescription drug abuse, click here

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