Table 1.
Patient characteristics by race at initiation of long-term opioid therapy
| Characteristic | White (n=7,976) | Black (n=7,390) | P Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, mean (SD), y | 50.0 (9.8) | 50.3 (8.7) | .03* |
| Male Sex, n (%) | 7828 (98.1) | 7151 (97.8) | < .001* |
| HIV, n (%) | 2388 (29.9) | 2369 (32.1) | .005 |
| Hepatitis C, n (%) | 1835 (23.0) | 2536 (34.3) | < .001 |
| Diabetes, n (%) | 2194 (27.5) | 2371 (32.1) | < .001 |
| BMI, mean (SD) | 28.6 (6.5) | 28.1 (6.4) | < .001* |
| Smoking Status, n (%) | < .001 | ||
| Never | 1506 (19.9) | 1537 (21.5) | |
| Current | 4823 (63.6) | 4619 (64.7) | |
| Former | 1257 (16.6) | 980 (13.7) | |
| Serious Mental Illness, n (%) | 1639 (20.6) | 1513 (20.5) | .91 |
| Substance Use Disorder History, n (%) | 2301 (28.9) | 3209 (43.4) | < .001 |
| VACS Index, median (IQR) | 17 .0 (10.0–30.0) | 22 .0 (12.0–39.0) | < .001 |
| Average Daily Opioid Dose, median (IQR), mg MEQa | 16.5 (9.7–34.4) | 15.4 (9.4–28.6) | .006 |
| Short-Acting Schedule II Opioids, n (%) | 2706 (33.9) | 2492 (33.7) | .79 |
| Concurrent Benzodiazepine Receipt, n (%) | 2188 (27.4) | 992 (13.4) | < .001 |
| CD4 Count, median (IQR), cells/μLb | 384.0 (212.0–583.0) | 332.0 (161.0–545.0) | < .001 |
| HIV-1 RNA, Log10 Viral Load, < 500 copies/ml, n (%)b | 1052 (63) | 913 (53) | < .001 |
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; IQR, interquartile range; PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder; MEQ, morphine equivalent; VACS, Veterans Aging Cohort Study.
*
Note: Although statistically significant, the actual clinical differences are very small.
a
Average daily opioid dose calculated by dividing the total morphine equivalents received in the year since starting long-term opioid by total days supply.
b
Among HIV-infected patients.