Opioid misuse risk higher in population with disabilities

Chronic conditions such as persistent pain and serious mental illness place individuals with disabilities at relatively high risk of opioid misuse, suggests research presented at this month's annual meeting of the American Public Health Association.

Data analyzed from the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health showed that 17% of adults with disabilities had misused prescription opioids sometime in their life, compared with 11.3% of adults without disabilities. Lifetime heroin use rates were 4.4% in the disabled population and 1.8% in the non-disabled population.

The analysis also found that only 12.8% of disabled adults with past-year opioid misuse received substance use treatment, although that percentage was actually higher than that for non-disabled adults with past-year opioid misuse.

“Additional research is needed to assess barriers to evidence-based treatment, particularly for adults with disabilities,” said study lead author Jae Kennedy, who chairs the Department of Health Policy and Administration at Washington State University.