Table 1.
Demographic characteristics of matched adult (> = 18 years) responders from the MEPS, 2008 to 2017
| Characteristics | Total | Respondents with an opioid prescription | Respondents without an opioid prescription | Standardized difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of adults | 61,406 | 30,703 | 30,703 | |
| Weighted sample | 63,233,310 | 31,696,671 | 31,536,639 | |
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 50.63 (18.03) | 50.77 (17.42) | 50.44 (18.62) | 0.018 |
| Age category, n (%) | ||||
| 18 to 24 years | 5,799,596 (9.2%) | 2,453,290 (7.7%) | 3,346,306 (10.6%) | −0.100 |
| 25 to 44 years | 18,010,168 (28.5%) | 9,182,160 (29.0%) | 8,828,008 (28.0%) | 0.022 |
| 45 to 64 years | 23,967,616 (28.5%) | 12,572,602 (39.7%) | 11,395,014 (36.1%) | 0.073 |
| 65 + years | 15,455,930 (24.4%) | 7,488,618 (23.6%) | 7,967,312 (25.3%) | −0.038 |
| Gender, n (%) | ||||
| Male | 25,984,623 (41.4%) | 13,032,419 (41.1%) | 12,952,203 (41.1%) | −0.001 |
| Female | 37,248,687 (58.9%) | 18,664,252 (58.9%) | 18,584,436 (58.9%) | 0.001 |
| Race, n (%) | ||||
| White | 52,228,967 (82.6%) | 26,128,470 (82.4%) | 26,100,497 (82.8%) | −0.009 |
| Black | 7,473,006 (11.8%) | 3,851,219 (12.2%) | 3,621,787 (11.5%) | 0.021 |
| Native American / Alaskan Native | 550,687 (0.9%) | 337,100 (1.1%) | 213,587 (0.7%) | 0.042 |
| Asian / Pacific Islander | 1,737,580 (2.8%) | 649,421 (2.1%) | 1,088,159 (3.5%) | −0.086 |
| Multiple races reported | 1,243,070 (2.0%) | 730,460 (2.3%) | 512,609 (1.6%) | 0.049 |
| Ethnicity, n (%) | ||||
| Hispanic | 6,108,537 (9.7%) | 3,116,758 (9.8%) | 2,991,778 (9.5%) | 0.012 |
| Not Hispanic | 57,124,773 (90.3%) | 28,579,913 (90.2%) | 28,544,861 (90.5%) | −0.012 |
| Marital status, n (%) | ||||
| Married | 32,985,524 (52.2%) | 16,515,381 (52.1%) | 16,470,143 (52.2%) | −0.002 |
| Widowed | 5,605,103 (8.9%) | 2,744,706 (8.9%) | 2,860,397 (9.1%) | −0.014 |
| Divorced | 9,232,188 (14.6%) | 5,082,374 (16.0%) | 4,149,814 (13.2%) | 0.082 |
| Separated | 1,661,458 (2.6%) | 948,179 (3.0%) | 713,279 (2.3%) | 0.046 |
| Never | 13,749,037 (21.7%) | 6,406,031 (20.2%) | 7,343,006 (23.3%) | −0.075 |
| Education, n (%) | ||||
| No degree | 9,345,503 (14.8%) | 4,620,405 (14.6%) | 4,725,097 (15.0%) | −0.011 |
| GED / High School | 25,689,371 (40.6%) | 12,824,112 (40.5%) | 12,865,260 (40.8%) | −0.007 |
| Associates or Other degree | 12,778,135 (20.2%) | 6,926,184 (21.9%) | 5,851,951 (18.6%) | 0.082 |
| Bachelor | 9,752,704 (15.4%) | 4,631,816 (14.6%) | 5,120,887 (16.2%) | −0.045 |
| Master / Doctor | 5,433,179 (8.6%) | 2,564,625 (8.1%) | 2,868,554 (9.1%) | −0.036 |
| Not Ascertainable | 16,402 (0.03%) | 9050 (0.03%) | 7352 (0.02%) | 0.003 |
| Don’t know | 179,207 (0.3%) | 104,307 (0.3%) | 74,901 (0.2%) | 0.017 |
| Refused to answer | 38,808 (0.06%) | 16,172 (0.05%) | 22,636 (0.07%) | −0.008 |
| Region, n (%) | ||||
| Northwest | 9,961,981 (15.8%) | 4,674,845 (14.7%) | 5,287,137 (16.8%) | −0.055 |
| Midwest | 14,577,600 (23.1%) | 7,582,641 (23.9%) | 6,994,959 (22.2%) | 0.041 |
| South | 24,726,287 (39.1%) | 12,468,361 (39.3%) | 12,257,926 (38.9%) | 0.010 |
| West | 13,967,442 (22.1%) | 6,970,825 (22.0%) | 6,996,617 (22.2%) | −0.005 |
| Poverty status, n (%) | ||||
| Poor / Negative | 10,313,443 (16.3%) | 5,104,930 (16.1%) | 5,208,513 (16.5%) | −0.001 |
| Near Poor | 3,413,335 (5.4%) | 1,697,182 (5.4%) | 1,716,153 (5.4%) | −0.004 |
| Low Income | 9,119,538 (14.4%) | 4,758,503 (15.0%) | 4,361,035 (13.%) | 0.034 |
| Middle Income | 17,785,938 (28.1%) | 8,869,788 (28.0%) | 8,916,150 (28.3%) | −0.006 |
| High Income | 22,601,056 (35.7%) | 11,266,268 (35.5%) | 11,334,788 (35.9%) | −0.008 |
| Insurance coverage, n (%) | ||||
| Any Private | 41,247,710 (65.2%) | 20,323,558 (64.1%) | 20,924,152 (66.3%) | −0.047 |
| Public | 17,036,658 (26.9%) | 9,043,432 (28.5%) | 7,993,226 (25.3%) | 0.072 |
| Uninsured | 4,948,942 (7.8%) | 2,329,680 (7.4%) | 2,619,262 (8.3%) | −0.036 |
| Comorbidities, n (%) | ||||
| High blood pressure | 29,518,235 (46.7%) | 15,038,099 (47.4%) | 14,480,136 (45.9%) | 0.031 |
| Coronary heart disease | 5,893,689 (9.3%) | 2,904,943 (9.2%) | 2,988,746 (9.5%) | 0.011 |
| Angina | 3,365,407 (5.3%) | 1,708,626 (5.4%) | 1,656,781 (5.3%) | 0.006 |
| Myocardial infarction | 4,485,031 (7.1%) | 2,225,777 (7.0%) | 2,259,254 (7.2%) | 0.006 |
| Other heart disease | 11,633,422 (18.4%) | 5,750,760 (18.1%) | 5,882,663 (18.7%) | 0.013 |
| Stroke | 4,660,588 (7.4%) | 2,372,209 (7.5%) | 2,288,378 (7.3%) | 0.009 |
| High cholesterol | 26,295,752 (41.6%) | 13,374,570 (42.2%) | 12,921,182 (41.0%) | 0.025 |
| Cancer | 11,018,769 (17.4%) | 5,539,973 (17.5%) | 5,478,796 (17.4%) | 0.003 |
| Diabetes | 9,237,334 (14.6%) | 4,792,081 (14.6%) | 4,445,253 (14.1%) | 0.029 |
| Arthritis | 31,506,810 (49.8%) | 15,846,310 (50.0%) | 15,660,500 (49.7%) | 0.007 |