Abstract
Opioid misuse can lead to use disorder and other adverse outcomes. Identifying sociodemographic risk profiles and understanding misuse patterns in combination with health indicators can inform prevention science and clinical practice. A latent class analysis of opioid misuse was conducted on noninstitutionalized United States civilians aged 18 and older that reported opioid dependence or abuse in the 2017 National Survey of Drug Use and Health (n = 476; weighted n = 2,018,922). Opioid misuse was based on heroin and/or prescription pain reliever use, and associated determinants of health and mental health indicators. Five misuse profiles were identified: (1) single heroin or prescription misuse with high-income; (2) female prescription pain reliever misuse with psychological distress and suicidality; (3) younger polyopioid misuse with the highest proportion of Hispanics and heroin use; (4) older polyopioid misuse with the highest proportion of non-Hispanic blacks and disability; and (5) older non-Hispanic white male exclusive dual heroin and/or prescription misuse (27%, 20%, 38%, 10%, and 5% of sample, respectively). The identified risk profiles can inform public health practice to develop interventions for acute and immediate response by providing etiological evidence and to inform prevention and intervention efforts along the continuum from opioid initiation to use disorder.
Highlights
The statistics demarcating the opioid epidemic in the United States (US) are staggering and sobering
The current study used the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), which provided a representative sample of noninstitutionalized US adults 18 years and older that self-reported opioid dependence or abuse in all 50 states and District of Columbia
The sample selected for analysis from the 2017 NSDUH was restricted to noninstitutionalized
Summary
The statistics demarcating the opioid epidemic in the United States (US) are staggering and sobering. Opioid misuse has resulted in an estimated 1.7 million years of life lost in 2016 [1], and this number is projected to increase in the coming years. In 2017, more than 67.8% (47,600) of the 70,237 overdose deaths reported involved opioids; compared to the almost 42,000 reported in 2016 [2,3]. The true extent of overdose deaths are not known [4], it is reported that over 130 Americans die daily from an opioid related overdose [5]. Chen et al [6], used a computer simulation model to analyze data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2002 to 2015 and projected that deaths due to illicit opioids to increase by 61% by 2025. Public Health 2020, 17, 4321; doi:10.3390/ijerph17124321 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
