Table 1. Characteristics and prescription opioid receipt of adults, overall and stratified by OUD and overdose and prescription opioid receipt within 12 months before OUD or overdose diagnosis.
| No. (%) of Adults | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristic | Patients With Incident OUD or Opioid-Related Overdose | Patients With OUD | Patients With Overdose | ||
| With Opioid Prescriptions | Without Opioid Prescriptions | With Opioid Prescriptions | Without Opioid Prescriptions | ||
| Total sample size | 227,038 (100) | 133,131 (100) | 72,814 (100) | 14,160 (100) | 6,933 (100) |
| Age at diagnosis, y | |||||
| 18–30 | 75,191 (33.1) | 28,912 (21.7) | 39,372 (54.1) | 3,170 (22.4) | 3,737 (53.9) |
| 31–40 | 40,093 (17.7) | 26,353 (19.8) | 10,577 (14.5) | 2,258 (15.9) | 905 (13.1) |
| 41–50 | 48,428 (21.3) | 33,583 (25.2) | 10,310 (14.2) | 3,492 (24.7) | 1,043 (15.0) |
| 51–64 | 63,326 (27.9) | 44,283 (33.3) | 12,555 (17.2) | 5,240 (37.0) | 1,248 (18.0) |
| Male | 120,006 (52.9) | 67,766 (48.6) | 46,158 (63.4) | 5,304 (37.5) | 3,778 (54.5) |
| Insurance holder status | |||||
| Dependent | 121,393 (53.5) | 65,660 (49.3) | 43,749 (60.1) | 7,676 (54.2) | 4,308 (62.1) |
| Employee | 105,645 (46.5) | 67,471 (50.7) | 29,065 (39.9) | 6,484 (45.8) | 2,625 (37.9) |
| Living in metropolitan area | 193,079(85.0) | 111,758 (83.9) | 63,544 (87.3) | 11,776 (83.2) | 6,001 (86.6) |
| Region | |||||
| Northeast | 44,014 (19.4) | 20,997 (15.8) | 19,816 (27.2) | 1,842 (13.0) | 1,359 (19.6) |
| Northcentral | 44,419 (19.6) | 25,196 (18.9) | 13,932 (19.1) | 3,477 (24.6) | 1,814 (26.2) |
| South | 94,606 (41.7) | 59,271 (44.5) | 27,116 (37.2) | 5,767 (40.7) | 2,452 (35.4) |
| West | 43,999 (19.4) | 27,667 (20.8) | 11,950 (16.4) | 3,074 (21.7) | 1,308 (18.9) |
| Pain diagnosis | |||||
| Chronic pain | 114,639 (50.5) | 92,121 (69.2) | 13,244 (18.2) | 8,301 (58.6) | 973 (14.0) |
| Neuropathic pain | 51,348 (22.6) | 41,595 (31.2) | 5,721 (7.9) | 3,664 (25.9) | 368 (5.3) |
| Musculoskeletal pain | 147,557 (65.0) | 109,080 (81.9) | 25,255 (34.7) | 10,974 (77.5) | 2,248 (32.4) |
| Mental disorders | |||||
| Depression | 74,160 (32.7) | 46,329 (34.8) | 20,165 (27.7) | 5,791 (40.9) | 1,875 (27.0) |
| Anxiety | 45,993 (20.3) | 29,107 (21.9) | 12,714 (17.5) | 3,087 (21.8) | 1,085 (15.6) |
| Prescription opioid treatmenta within 12 months before OUD or overdose | |||||
| Type of opioid agents | |||||
| Short-acting only | 104,846 (71.2) | 94,837 (71.2) | - | 10,009 (70.7) | - |
| Long-acting only | 3,062 (2.1) | 2,836 (2.1) | - | 226 (1.6) | - |
| Both short- and long-acting | 39,383 (26.7) | 35,458 (26.6) | - | 3,925 (27.7) | - |
| Chronic opioid usea,b | 43,625 (29.6) | 39,833 (29.9) | - | 3,792 (26.8) | - |
| High opioid dose | |||||
| ≥50 MME/day in any month | 63,121 (43.3)c | 57,677 (43.8)d | - | 5,444 (38.8)e | - |
| ≥90 MME/day in any month | 41,971 (28.8)c | 38,218(29.0)d | - | 3,753 (26.8)e | - |
| Prescription opioid treatmenta within 3 months before OUD or overdose | |||||
| Type of opioid agents | |||||
| Short-acting only | 79,196 (53.8) | 71,680 (53.8) | - | 7,516 (53.1) | - |
| Long-acting only | 3,424 (2.3) | 3,055 (2.3) | - | 369 (2.6) | - |
| Both short- and long-acting | 24,804 (16.8) | 22,195 (16.7) | - | 2,609 (18.4) | - |
| Chronic opioid use | 57,030 (38.7) | 52,400 (39.4) | - | 4,630 (32.7) | - |
| High opioid dose | |||||
| ≥50 MME/day | 773 (0.5)c | 715 (0.5)d | - | 58 (0.4)e | - |
| ≥90 MME/day | 335 (0.2)c | 312 (0.2)d | - | 23 (0.2)e | - |
aThe denominator was 147,291 patients who received at least 1 prescription opioid.
bChronic opioid use was defined as using prescription opioids for 70 days or longer in a 90-day period.
cThe denominator was 145,609 patients who had valid prescription opioid dosage converted to MME.
dThe denominator was 131,582 patients who had valid prescription opioid dosage converted to MME.
eThe denominator was 14,027 patients who had valid prescription opioid dosage converted to MME.
Abbreviations: MME, morphine milligram equivalent; OUD, opioid use disorder