Suicidal ideation, plan, and attempts and nonmedical prescription opioid use among U.S. adults

Abstract

ObjectiveThe increase of nonmedical prescription opioid use (NMPOU) in the United States has become a public health concern. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between nonmedical prescription opioid misuse and past-year suicidality (suicide ideation-SI, suicide plan-SP, and suicide attempts-SA) among U.S. adults.Method: Secondary data analysis was conducted using the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health with 42,625 respondents. NMPOU was grouped in 4 categories: (1) never used, (2) current user, (3) recent user, and (4) past user. The outcome variables were SI, SP and SA and they were predicted in multivariable logistic regression. ResultsCompared to the never-use of NMPO groups, the current, recent, and past users of NMPO showed significantly higher likelihoods of SI, SP, and SA models adjusting for sociodemographic and mental health-related factors. Presence of a major depressive episode had the significantly highest Odds Ratio of SI, SP, and SA. Suicidality among NMPO users is high, and there are multiple, sociodemographic and mental health related factors associated with this finding. ConclusionPolicy and prevention efforts to improve screening and treatment should focus on the at-risk populations identified in this study.