Prescription Pain Reliever Misuse Prevalence, Correlates, and Origin of Possession Throughout the Life Course

• Among respondents, 4.7% reported past-year prescription pain reliever misuse. 
• Prevalence for individuals aged 12 to 17 was 5.9%, 
• 18 to 25 was 10.2%, 
• 26-34 was 7.7%, 
• 35 to 49 was 4.3%, 
• 50 or older was 1.7%
• While many social and clinical correlates of pain reliever misuse emerged among younger respondents, these correlates diminished in significance among older adults. 
• Only past-year illicit drug use disorders (marijuana, cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, and hallucinogen use) was a significant predictor of pain reliever misuse among all age groups. 
• Also, older adults were more likely to report pain reliever possession from multiple medical doctors,
• Whereas younger individuals were more likely to possess pain reliever from friends/relatives or through purchase from a drug dealer/stranger.

Increased efforts to better screen for illicit drug use and greater efforts to coordinate patient prescription records among medical care providers may be high priorities in developing interventions to reduce rates of misuse of prescription pain relievers, especially among older adults.

Via: http://ht.ly/SgzeL

By: Mowbray O1, Quinn A2.

• 1University of Georgia School of Social Work, United States.
• 2University of Georgia School of Social Work, United States.