Table 1.
Demographic, Comorbidity, Drug and Treatment Variables Amongst Chronic VA Opioid Users Stratified by Discontinuation at 1 Year, 2009-2011
| Variable | Categories | Total (%) | Discontinued (%) | Continued (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | All | 550,616 (100.0%) | 41,197 (7.48%) | 509,419 (92.52%) |
| Age Category | 18-30 | 16,852 (3.06%) | 1,976 (11.73%) | 14,876 (88.27%) |
| 30-50 | 104,747 (19.02%) | 7,974 (7.61%) | 96,773 (92.39%) | |
| 50-65 (Reference) | 294,272 (53.44%) | 19,793 (6.73%) | 274,479 (93.27%) | |
| >=65 | 134,745 (24.47%) | 11,454 (8.50%) | 123,291 (91.50%) | |
| Age* | Mean (STD) | 57.76 (12.92) | 57.90 (14.44) | 57.75 (12.79) |
| Gender | Male | 514,373 (93.42%) | 38,230 (7.43%) | 476,143 (92.57%) |
| Race | White | 406,284 (73.79%) | 30,300 (7.46%) | 375,984 (92.54%) |
| Black | 84,686 (15.38%) | 6,876 (8.12%) | 77,810 (91.88%) | |
| Other | 10,509 (1.91%) | 757 (7.20%) | 9,752 (92.80%) | |
| Multiracial | 3,934 (0.71%) | 313 (7.96%) | 3,621 (92.04%) | |
| Unknown/Declined | 45,203 (8.21%) | 2,951 (6.53%) | 42,252 (93.47%) | |
| Marital Status | Married | 286,663 (52.06%) | 20,389 (7.11%) | 266,274 (92.89%) |
| Index Year | 2009 | 350,050 (63.57%) | 22,812 (6.52%) | 327,238 (93.48%) |
| 2010 | 106,073 (19.26%) | 10,465 (9.87%) | 95,608 (90.13%) | |
| 2011 | 94,493 (17.16%) | 7,920 (8.38%) | 86,573 (91.62%) | |
| Residential Setting | Urban | 374,682 (69.01%) | 28,843 (7.70%) | 345,839 (92.30%) |
| Isolated Small Rural (Reference) | 39,166 (7.21%) | 2,599 (6.64%) | 36,567 (93.36%) | |
| Large Rural | 82,211 (15.14%) | 5,751 (7.00%) | 76,460 (93.00%) | |
| Small Rural | 46,853 (8.63%) | 3,175 (6.78%) | 43,678 (93.22%) | |
| Any Mental Health Diagnoses | 342,954 (62.29%) | 26,183 (7.63%) | 316,771 (92.37%) | |
| Mental Health Dx | PTSD | 100,820 (18.31%) | 8,122 (8.06%) | 92,698 (91.94%) |
| Anxiety | 89,176 (16.20%) | 7,252 (8.13%) | 81,924 (91.87%) | |
| Depression | 163,267 (29.65%) | 12,942 (7.93%) | 150,325 (92.07%) | |
| Bipolar | 23,269 (4.23%) | 2,207 (9.48%) | 21,062 (90.52%) | |
| Schizophrenia | 11,670 (2.12%) | 1,105 (9.47%) | 10,565 (90.53%) | |
| 0 | 207,662 (37.71%) | 15,014 (7.23%) | 192,648 (92.77%) | |
| 1 | 157,246 (28.56%) | 11,057 (7.03%) | 146,189 (92.97%) | |
| 2 | 101,058 (18.35%) | 7,742 (7.66%) | 93,316 (92.34%) | |
| 3 | 58,002 (10.53%) | 4,820 (8.31%) | 53,182 (91.69%) | |
| 4 | 20,771 (3.77%) | 1,896 (9.13%) | 18,875 (90.87%) | |
| 5 | 5,877 (1.07%) | 668 (11.37%) | 5,209 (88.63%) | |
| TBI | 10,160 (1.85%) | 1,026 (10.10%) | 9,134 (89.90%) | |
| Any Substance Use Diagnoses (not including Tobacco) | 79,743 (14.4%) | 7,425 (9.3%) | 72,318 (90.7%) | |
| Substance Use Disorder | Alcohol | 57,487 (10.44%) | 5,463 (9.50%) | 52,024 (90.50%) |
| Non-Opioid | 39,755 (7.22%) | 4,068 (10.23%) | 35,687 (89.77%) | |
| Opioid | 15,490 (2.81%) | 1,590 (10.26%) | 13,900 (89.74%) | |
| Tobacco* | 140,825 (25.58%) | 10,293 (7.31%) | 130,532 (92.69%) | |
| 0 | 470,865 (85.52%) | 33,769 (7.17%) | 437,096 (92.83%) | |
| 1 | 53,633 (9.74%) | 4,571 (8.52%) | 49,062 (91.48%) | |
| 2 | 19,255 (3.50%) | 2,021 (10.50%) | 17,234 (89.50%) | |
| 3 | 6,863 (1.25%) | 836 (12.18%) | 6,027 (87.82%) | |
| Opioid Characteristics | Mean Daily Dose (mg MED); (STD) | 40.70 (61.66) | 30.29 (39.75) | 41.54 (63.03) |
| 0 - Median | 275,307 (50.00%) | 24,845 (9.02%) | 250,462 (90.98%) | |
| Median to 100 | 236,718 (42.99%) | 14,880 (6.29%) | 221,838 (93.71%) | |
| Greater than 100 mg | 38,591 (7.01%) | 1,472 (3.81%) | 37,119 (96.19%) | |
| Long-Acting Formulations | 16,094 (2.92%) | 774 (4.81%) | 15,320 (95.19%) | |
| Short-Acting Formulation | 534,522 (97.08%) | 40,423 (7.56%) | 494,099 (92.44%) | |
| Greater than 90 day Pre-Index Opioid Use | 313,813 (56.99%) | 16,516 (5.26%) | 297,297 (94.74%) | |
| Average Number of Days Covered in 90 days between day 270 and 360 Post-Index (STD) | 58.89 (32.29) | 12.18 (21.39) | 62.66 (29.99) | |
| Average MED in Days 270-360 Post-Index (STD) | 44.35 (66.91) | 30.00 (37.70) | 44.80 (67.57) | |
| Any CNCP* | 453,198 (82.31%) | 33,715 (7.44%) | 419,483 (92.56%) | |
| Chronic Pain Category Count | 0 | 97,418 (17.69%) | 7,482 (7.68%) | 89,936 (92.32%) |
| 1 | 241,041 (43.78%) | 18,436 (7.65%) | 222,605 (92.35%) | |
| 2 | 146,930 (26.68%) | 10,594 (7.21%) | 136,336 (92.79%) | |
| >=3 | 65,227 (11.85%) | 4,685 (7.18%) | 60,542 (92.82%) | |
| Charlson Co-Morbidity Index Mean (STD) | 0.72 (0.89) | 0.76 (0.93) | 0.72 (0.89) | |
| Mean Pain Intensity Score in 90-days Post-Index (STD) | 4.03 (2.46) | 3.89 (2.44) | 4.04 (2.47) | |
| Service Intensity | Mean 90-Day Encounter Count (STD) | 8.92 (11.01) | 11.03 (13.01) | 8.75 (10.82) |
| Combined Mental Health/SUD Encounter Count (STD) | 1.37 (5.35) | 1.92 (6.61) | 1.32 (5.23) | |
| Mean 90-Day MH Encounter Count Post Index (STD) | 1.09 (3.89) | 1.46 (4.53) | 1.06 (3.83) | |
| Mean 90 Day SUD Encounter Count Post-Index (STD) | 0.28 (3.03) | 0.46 (3.99) | 0.26 (2.94) | |
*
All associations significant at the p<0.0001 level except for Age, p = 0.0208, Tobacco, p = 0.0043 and any CNCP: 0.0095
MED: Morphine Equivalent Dose per day in mg, STD: Standard Deviation, Dx: Diagnosis, PTSD: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, SUD: Substance Use Disorder, MH: Mental Health, CNCP: Chronic Non-Cancer Pain categories, TBI: Traumatic Brain Injury