Table 1. Characteristics of the Study Sample.
| Characteristic | Participants, No. (%) | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall (N = 6499) | Initial daily dosea | |||
| 16 mg (n = 3264) | 24 mg (n = 668) | |||
| Sociodemographic characteristics | ||||
| Age group, y | ||||
| 18-24 | 503 (8) | 254 (8) | 33 (5) | <.001 |
| 25-34 | 1966 (30) | 1044 (32) | 185 (28) | |
| 35-44 | 1716 (26) | 912 (28) | 195 (29) | |
| 45-54 | 1206 (19) | 599 (18) | 128 (19) | |
| ≥55 | 1108 (17) | 455 (14) | 127 (19) | |
| Sex assigned at birth | ||||
| Female | 2434 (37) | 1182 (36) | 239 (36) | .004 |
| Male | 3950 (61) | 1987 (61) | 424 (63) | |
| Unknown | 115 (2) | 95 (3) | 5 (1) | |
| Health insurance type | ||||
| Medicaid | 2153 (33) | 1162 (36) | 214 (32) | .03 |
| Medicare | 622 (10) | 282 (9) | 77 (12) | |
| Private | 3025 (47) | 1555 (48) | 311 (47) | |
| Other or none | 699 (11) | 265 (8) | 66 (10) | |
| Year of treatment initiation | ||||
| 2016 | 543 (8) | 285 (9) | 57 (9) | .01 |
| 2017 | 1963 (30) | 1090 (33) | 217 (32) | |
| 2018 | 1776 (27) | 904 (28) | 151 (23) | |
| 2019 | 1355 (21) | 605 (19) | 140 (21) | |
| 2020 | 862 (13) | 380 (12) | 103 (15) | |
| Prescription history in prior 30 d | ||||
| Available days’ supply of a benzodiazepine | ||||
| Yes | 990 (15) | 448 (14) | 119 (18) | .006 |
| No | 5509 (85) | 2816 (86) | 549 (82) | |
| Available days’ supply of an opioid other than buprenorphine | ||||
| Yes | 1072 (16) | 475 (15) | 125 (19) | .006 |
| No | 5427 (84) | 2789 (85) | 543 (81) | |
| Initial buprenorphine prescription characteristics | ||||
| Product type | ||||
| Buprenorphine monoproduct | 406 (6) | 142 (4) | 48 (7) | .002 |
| Buprenorphine/naloxone | 6093 (94) | 3122 (96) | 620 (93) | |
| Product formulation | ||||
| Film | 3747 (58) | 1887 (58) | 392 (59) | .68 |
| Tablet | 2752 (42) | 1377 (42) | 276 (41) | |
| Days’ supply, d | ||||
| <8 | 3760 (58) | 1951 (60) | 334 (50) | <.001 |
| ≥8 | 2739 (42) | 1313 (40) | 334 (50) | |
| Distance from home to pharmacy (miles)b | ||||
| <5 | 4711 (72) | 2303 (71) | 494 (74) | .16 |
| ≥5 | 1760 (27) | 941 (29) | 172 (26) | |
| Unknown | 28 (<1) | 20 (1) | <5c | |
a
Defined as the daily dose on their first buprenorphine prescription, based on the total quantity and days’ supply dispensed.
b
Based on zip code centroids.
c
Counts of 1 to 4 and associated percentages are suppressed in accordance with the Small Numbers Policy of the Rhode Island Department of Health.