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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Oct 1.
Published in final edited form as: J Addict Med. 2015 Oct;9(5):417–426. doi: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000000151

Table 1. Baseline Characteristics Overall and by Opioid Use (n=868).

Characteristics Overall (n=868) Opioid Usea
Any Opioid Use (n=396) No Opioid Use (n=472) Pb
Demographics
Age, mean in years (SD) 47.8 (10.9) 48.9 (10.1) 46.8 (11.4) 0.02
Male 69.6% 68.2% 70.8% 0.41
Racec
 White 45.1% 49.4% 41.5% 0.03
 Black 37.4% 32.9% 41.1%
 Other 17.5% 17.7% 17.3%
Hispanic 9.2% 9.4% 9.0% 0.83
Marital status
 Married/living with partner 18.6% 21.5% 16.1% < 0.001
 Divorced/separated/widowed 40.2% 43.8% 37.2%
 Never married 41.2% 34.7% 46.7%
Education
 High school or less 19.1% 20.3% 18.2% 0.01
 High school graduate 29.3% 24.3% 33.5%
 Beyond high school 51.6% 55.4% 48.3%
Employment status
 Working 9.0% 7.1% 10.6% < 0.001
 Unemployed/retired/in school/homemaker/other 27.5% 21.7% 32.3%
 Disabled and unable to work 63.6% 71.2% 57.1%
Homeless in shelter or on street ≥1 night in past 3 monthsd 30.4% 27.9% 32.4% 0.15
Medical
Emergency departmente
 Any (%) 62.3% 67.4% 58.0% <0.001
 Mean visits (SD) 2.5 (4.3) 2.8 (4.5) 2.3 (4.1) 0.11
 Mean cost (SD) $1,347.69 ($2,436.81) $1,482.89 ($2,629.51) $1,233.12 ($2,257.27) 0.14
 Median visits 1.0 1.0 1.0
 Median cost $363.81 $565.03 $189.70
Outpatient medicale
 Any (%) 92.0% 94.1% 90.2% 0.04
 Mean visits (SD) 18.9 (18.0) 21.5 (18.7) 16.8 (17.1) <0.001
 Mean cost (SD) $7,114.62 ($8,918.87) $8,124.86 ($9,599.48) $6,258.45 ($8,212.24) 0.003
 Median visits 14.0 17.0 12.0
 Median cost $4,563.84 $5,492.33 $3,900.91
Inpatient medicale
 Any (%) 29.8% 34.7% 25.7% <0.001
Mean admissions (SD) 0.5 (1.1) 0.6 (1.1) 0.4 (1.0) 0.02
 Mean cost (SD) $7,473.52 ($24,451.98) $10,192.70 ($30,250.08) $5,169.03 ($17,858.05) 0.004
 Median admissions 0.0 0.0 0.0
 Median cost 0.0 $0.00 $0.00
ASI Medical Status composite score, mean (SD)f 0.65 (0.33) 0.73 (0.29) 0.59 (0.35) <0.001
CDPS medical conditions, mean (SD)e 7.4 (3.8) 8.3 (3.5) 6.7 (3.8) <0.001
EQ-5D score, mean (SD) 0.70 (0.21) 0.64 (0.22) 0.74 (0.20) <0.001
EQ-5D Item 4: “I have moderate pain or discomfort” or “I have extreme pain or discomfort” 78.0% 86.4% 71.0% < 0.001
Psychiatric
≥1 Mental illness ICD-9 diagnosise 63.9% 70.2% 58.6% < 0.001
Prescribed medication for psychological or emotion problems, lifetime 71.3% 78.0% 65.7% < 0.001
Substance Use/Treatment
ASI days most frequently used drug, mean (SD)g 13.8 (11.0) 15.3 (10.95) 12.6 (10.91) <0.001
ASI Drug Use composite score, mean (SD)f,g 0.11 (10.0) 0.14 (0.11) 0.09 (0.09) <0.001
ASI drug use, any in past 30 days h
 Marijuana 75.6% 74.2% 76.7% 0.40
  Medical Marijuana 15.1% 15.4% 14.9% 0.83
 Stimulants 41.7% 45.2% 38.8% 0.06
  Cocaine 37.4% 40.7% 34.7% 0.07
  Amphetamines 7.3% 8.6% 6.1% 0.17
 Opioids 45.6% 100.0% 0.0% < 0.001
  Heroin 6.8% 14.9% 0.0% < 0.001
  Methadone non-prescribed 5.8% 12.6% 0.0% < 0.001
  Methadone as prescribed 4.6% 10.1% 0.0% < 0.001
  Other opioids/analgesics non-prescribed 21.1% 46.2% 0.0% < 0.001
  Other opioids/analgesics as prescribed 23.5% 51.5% 0.0% < 0.001
 Sedatives/hypnotics/tranquilizers 8.3% 12.4% 4.9% < 0.001
  Benzodiazepinesnon-prescribed 4.9% 8.1% 2.3% <0.001
 Other drugs g, i 5.9% 7.6% 4.4% 0.05
2 or more drugs used in past 30 days g, j 44.8% 64.1% 28.6% < 0.001
Intravenous drug use past 30 days 8.3% 14.0% 3.6% < 0.001
Goal of total abstinence from drugs g, k 37.2% 39.1% 35.6% 0.28
DAST-10 drug use severity, mean score (SD)g 4.26 (2.52) 4.65 (2.68) 3.93 (2.34) <0.001
 Low (score 1-2) 32.0% 26.0% 37.1% <0.001
 Intermediate (score 3-5) 37.8% 39.6% 36.2%
 Substantial/severe (score ≥ 6) 30.2% 34.3% 26.7%
ASI Alcohol Use composite score, mean (SD)f 0.15 (0.20) 0.14 (0.19) 0.15 (0.21) 0.43
ASI alcohol use, any in past 30 days 68.9% 67.9% 69.7% 0.57
Nicotine use, any in past 30 days 71.6% 73.7% 69.8% 0.20
CD treatment services
 Admitted to CD treatmente 17.3% 18.0% 16.8% 0.64
 Detoxification (not followed by CD treatment)e 7.7% 8.0% 7.4% 0.76
Other Psychosocial
Arrests for felony or gross misdemeanore 14.4% 13.9% 14.8% 0.70
HIV Risk-taking Behaviour score, mean (SD) 3.3 (4.2) 3.6 (4.5) 3.1 (3.9) 0.12
ASI Family/Social composite score, mean (SD)f 0.17 (0.22) 0.19 (0.23) 0.15 (0.20) 0.02
a

Missing values are not included in this table.

b

Pvalue based on chi square or ANOVA.

c

Assessed by self-report using National Institutes of Health reporting categories for federally funded clinical research.

d

Homeless was defined as spending at least 1 night in the previous 90 either living on the streets, in an abandoned building, in a car, or in a shelter.

e

Administrative data available for 848 participants for the 2 years prior to enrollment.

f

ASI composite scores range from 0 to 1, with 1 indicating greatest problem severity.

g

Excludes use of alcohol or nicotine.

h

ASI drug use groups reported are not mutually exclusive. The groups reflect illicit or non-prescribed use only unless otherwise indicated.

i

“Other drugs” can include all other abused medications (e.g., antihistamines, antidepressants) or drugs of abuse (e.g., hallucinogens, inhalants) not included in the existing categories.

j

Problem drug or non-prescribed medication use only.

k

From the Thoughts About Abstinence measure which is used to assess one's goal for changing drug use (no goal, controlled use, occasional use, temporary abstinence, total abstinence slip is possible, total abstinence never use again). The reported “goal of total abstinence from drugs” includes “total abstinence, never use again” and “total abstinence, slip is possible.”

ASI, Addiction Severity Index; CD, chemical dependency; CDPS, Chronic Illness and Disability Payment System; DAST-10, Drug Abuse Screening Test 10-item; EQ-5D, Euroqol EQ-5D instrument.