Table 1.
Descriptive Statistics of Male Veterans on Long-term Opioids Therapy (LTOT)
| Variables, n (%) | Overall, n=22,996 | Uninfected, n=16,418 | PLWH, n=6,578 | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, mean (SD) | 51 (9) | 52 (9) | 51 (9) | 0.02 |
| Race: | <0.001 | |||
| White | 11,023 (48) | 7,970 (49) | 3,053 (46) | |
| Black | 10,258 (45) | 7,178 (44) | 3,080 (47) | |
| Hispanic | 1,715 (7) | 1,270 (8) | 445 (7) | |
| Smoking:m | <0.001 | |||
| Never | 4,544 (20) | 3,423 (21) | 1,121 (17) | |
| Current | 13,935 (61) | 9,819 (60) | 4,116 (63) | |
| Former | 3,641 (16) | 2,757 (17) | 884 (13) | |
| Diabetes | 7,738 (34) | 5,937 (36) | 1,801 (27) | <0.001 |
| Hepatitis C | 6,827 (30) | 3,758 (23) | 3,069 (47) | <0.001 |
| Sleep Apnea | 386 (2) | 339 (2) | 47 (1) | <0.001 |
| Hypertension | 10,721 (47) | 8,253 (50) | 2,468 (38) | <0.001 |
| Coronary artery disease | 2,443 (11) | 1,927 (12) | 516 (8) | <0.001 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 2,404 (10) | 1,729 (11) | 675 (10) | 0.55 |
| Congestive heart failure | 767 (3) | 573 (3) | 194 (3) | 0.04 |
| Opioid use disorder | 1,141 (5) | 641 (4) | 500 (8) | <0.001 |
| Pain related-diagnosis: | <0.001 | |||
| None | 4,027 (18) | 2,354 (14) | 1,673 (25) | |
| Acute | 1,075 (5) | 635 (4) | 440 (7) | |
| Chronic | 17,894 (78) | 13,429 (82) | 4,465 (68) | |
| Average pain score, IQR | 5.7 (3.0, 8.0) | 6.0 (3.0, 8.0) | 5.0 (2.5, 7.7) | <0.001 |
| Substance use disorders* | 5,879 (26) | 3,912 (24) | 1,967 (30) | <0.001 |
| Bipolar disorder | 1,796 (8) | 1,289 (8) | 507 (8) | 0.71 |
| Major depression | 2,824 (12) | 1,940 (12) | 884 (13) | 0.001 |
| PTSD | 3,593 (16) | 2,848 (17) | 745 (11) | <0.001 |
| Schizophrenia | 1,123 (5) | 849 (5) | 274 (4) | 0.001 |
| Psychiatric disorders** | 7,191 (31) | 5,340 (33) | 1,851 (28) | <0.001 |
| On ARTh | 4,068 (62) | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| MEDD, IQR | 20 (13, 32) | 20 (13, 30) | 21 (14, 37) | <0.001 |
| Benzodiazepine receipt | 4,549 (20) | 3,162 (19) | 1,387 (21) | 0.002 |
| Benzodiazepine dose, IQR | 440 (160, 990) | 450 (172, 1027) | 400 (150, 900) | 0.0006 |
| VACS index score 2.0, IQR | 36 (28, 49) | 32 (26, 39) | 55 (44, 68) | <0.001 |
| All-cause mortality | 5,222 (23) | 3,033 (18) | 2,189 (33) | <0.001 |
| Unnatural deaths | 619 (3) | 418 (2) | 201 (3) | 0.03 |
| Overdose | 337 (1) | 223 (1) | 114 (2) | 0.03 |
PLWH - people living with HIV; m 876 (4%) were missing smoking [7% in PLWH vs. 3% in uninfected].
*
Substance use disorders is a composite of alcohol and drug disorder
**
Psychiatric disorders is a composite of bipolar disorder, major depression, PTSD, and schizophrenia; h – among PLWH; ART – antiretroviral therapy; MEDD – Morphine equivalent daily dose.