Table 3.
Relative risk of death in older (≥50 years) adults with opioid use disorder, compared to younger (<50 years) adults with opioid use disorder and older (≥50 years) adults without opioid use disorder, VA patients, FY2000–2011
| Relative risk (95% CI) of death in older adults with opioid use disorder (n=36,608), compared to: |
||
|---|---|---|
| Cause of death | Younger opioid use disorder (n=23,662)a |
Older no opioid use disorder (n=36,608)b |
| All cause | 2.2 (2.2, 2.3) | 1.6 (1.5, 1.6) |
| Drug-related | 0.8 (0.8, 0.9) | 8.6 (8.0, 9.3) |
| Accidental drug-related | 0.9 (0.8, 1.0) | 9.5 (8.7, 10.3) |
| Suicide | 1.0 (0.8, 1.1) | 2.1 (1.7, 2.4) |
| Violence | 0.6 (0.4, 0.8) | 2.0 (1.3, 2.7) |
| Accidental injuries | 1.7 (1.4, 1.9) | 1.8 (1.5, 2.0) |
| Cancer | 4.3 (4.1, 4.5) | 1.3 (1.2, 1.3) |
| HIV | 1.2 (1.0, 1.4) | 2.7 (2.2, 3.2) |
| Cardiovascular disease | 2.8 (2.7, 3.0) | 1.3 (1.2, 1.4) |
| Liver-related | 2.3 (2.2, 2.4) | 3.0 (2.8, 3.1) |
| Chronic respiratory disease | 4.5 (4.1, 4.9) | 1.7 (1.5, 1.8) |
| Respiratory infections | 3.4 (2.8, 4.1) | 1.5 (1.2, 1.8) |
| Diabetes | 2.2 (1.9, 2.5) | 0.9 (0.8, 1.1) |
CI=confidence interval.
a
Older opioid use disorder CMR/younger opioid use disorder CMR.
b
Older opioid use disorder CMR/Older, no opioid use disorder CMR. Sex-disaggregated data are provided in the Supplementary Materials3.