The risks and consequences of opioid misuse

Abstract

Opioid misuse and addiction has been widely identified as a public health problem, contributing substantially to the nation’s morbidity and mortality. Over the past two decades, misuse of prescription opioids pain relievers has substantially increased; heroin use has resurged; and, more recently, abuse of high-potency synthetic opioids such as fentanyl have fueled the epidemic. Nearly 12 million Americans (or 4.4%) aged 12 and older misused some type of opioid (prescribed or illegal) in the past year. Furthermore, the percentage of substance use treatment admissions attributable to opioids nearly doubled in the U.S., from 20.8% in 2000 to 40.5% in 2015. The purpose of this dissertation research was to investigate associations between prescription pain reliever use and subsequent negative health outcomes, including opioid misuse or addiction, and neonatal abstinence syndrome. This research focused on three specific aims: Specific Aim #1: Examine heroin use among Indiana’s substance use treatment population to measure the extent, trends, and patterns of use, as well as to assess the relationship between prescription opioids and subsequent heroin use; Specific Aim #2: Analyze 2014 INSPECT (Indiana’s prescription drug monitoring program) data to identify factors that increase patients’ likelihood to engage in opioidrelated risk behaviors; and Specific Aim #3: Review U.S. trends in neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) incidence from 2008-2014, measure regional variability, and identify personal and environmental risk factors associated with NAS.