PMH29 OPIOID USE AMONG INDIVIDUALS WITH DEPRESSION:NHAES STUDY 2005-2014

Abstract

The recent prevalence of opioid use in the general US population has been reported at 6.8%. Of these, individuals with mental health disorders account for half of all prescription opioids used. Given the relatively high depression morbidity in US adults, we examined the prevalence of opioid use associated with depression in particular. We analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), nationally representative survey from 2005 to 2014. Depression was identified using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). The PHQ-9 score >=5 were categorized as mild depression, score>=10 as moderate depression, and score >=15 as severe depression. We estimated the prevalence and trend of opioid use among people with depression and constructed a logistic regression model to identify key drivers of opioid use. The model was adjusted for sex, race, income level, education level, alcohol intake (>=12 drinks a year), ever marijuana use, ever heroin use, hospital admission in the last year, seen a mental health provider, antidepressant use, and severity of depression. We identified a total of 6006 adults with depression. The overall prevalence of opioid use in that population was 13% [95% CI:12-15%]. From 2005 to 2014, the prevalence of opioid use among people with depression remained steady with no significant change in trend [OR:1.12, 95% CI:0.74-1.7,p=0.58]. The adjusted model showed opioid use was statistically significantly associated with male sex, White race, low income, non-private health insurance, multiple chronic illnesses, heroin use, antidepressant use, and hospital admission in the last year. The prevalence of opioid use among US adults with depression is close to the reported estimate for overall mental health disorder population, and is associated with demographic and clinical characteristics, as well as higher risk behaviors. This study result could prove useful for prescribers and health care providers to identify mechanisms to prevent potential abuse.