Psychiatric Conditions Linked to Increased Risk of Long-Term Opioid Use

Summary: Researchers report on an increase in rates of opioid prescriptions to people with mental health conditions.

Source: Wolters Kluwer Health.

A wide range of pre-existing psychiatric and behavioral conditions and the use of psychoactive drugs could be important risk factors leading to long-term use of opioid pain medications, reports a study in PAIN.

Using a nationwide insurance database, the researchers identified 10.3 million patients who filed insurance claims for opioid prescriptions between 2004 and 2013. The study looked at whether pre-existing psychiatric and behavioral conditions and use of psychoactive medications were predictors of later opioid use.

“We found that pre-existing psychiatric and behavioral conditions and psychoactive medications were associated with subsequent claims for prescription opioids,” write Patrick D. Quinn, PhD, of Indiana University, Bloomington, and colleagues. The association appears stronger for long-term opioid use, and especially for patients with a previous history of substance use disorders.

The results also suggest that some outcomes viewed as harmful outcomes of opioid use—substance use disorders, depression, suicidal or self-injuring behavior, and motor vehicle crashes—are also predictors of which patients are at risk of long-term use of prescription opioids.

Increased Rates of Opioid Prescribing for People with Mental Health Conditions

Overall, the results suggested a “modest” increase in any opioid prescriptions for patients with previous psychiatric or behavioral conditions (depression or anxiety disorders, opioid or other substance use disorders, suicide attempts or other self-injury, motor vehicle crashes, and sleep disorders) or use of psychoactive medications.

About 1.7 percent of patients with opioid prescriptions become long-term opioid users (six months or longer). But the risk became substantially higher for patients with mental health conditions or psychoactive medication use. Relative increases in rates of long-term opioid use ranged from 1.5 times for patients taking medications for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, to about 3 times for those with previous substance use disorders other than opioids, to nearly 9 times for those with previous opioid use disorders.

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About 1.7 percent of patients with opioid prescriptions become long-term opioid users (six months or longer). But the risk became substantially higher for patients with mental health conditions or psychoactive medication use. NeuroscienceNews.com image is for illustrative purposes only.

Amid the continuing opioid epidemic, it’s important to understand which patients select (or are selected for) treatment with these pain medications. Previous studies have suggested a pattern of “adverse selection”: patients at greatest risk of harmful outcomes, including those with substance abuse and other psychiatric conditions, may be more likely to be prescribed opioids in higher doses and for longer durations.

“Our results add to existing evidence that the risk of long-term opioid receipt associated with [pre-existing] psychiatric and behavioral conditions is widespread and relates to multiple diagnoses and psychoactive medications,” Dr. Quinn and coauthors write. The results add to previous evidence suggesting that opioids are more likely to be prescribed to certain groups of patients at high risk for adverse outcomes.

Dr. Quinn and coauthors conclude: “Our findings support the ideas that clinical practice has deviated from the ‘careful selection’ under which most clinical trials are conducted and that thorough mental health assessment and intervention should be considered in conjunction with the use of long-term opioid therapy.”

About this psychology research article

Source: Connie Hughes – Wolters Kluwer Health
Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.
Original Research: Full open access research for “Incident and long-term opioid therapy among patients with psychiatric conditions and medications: a national study of commercial health care claims” by Quinn, Patrick D.; Hur, Kwan; Chang, Zheng; Krebs, Erin E.; Bair, Matthew J.; Scott, Eric L.; Rickert, Martin E.; Gibbons, Robert D.; Kroenke, Kurt; and D’Onofrio, Brian M. in Pain. Published online December 22016 doi:10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000730

Cite This NeuroscienceNews.com Article

[cbtabs][cbtab title=”MLA”]Wolters Kluwer Health “Psychiatric Conditions Linked to Increased Risk of Long-Term Opioid Use.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 30 December 2016.
<https://neurosciencenews.com/mental-health-opioid-use-5838/>.[/cbtab][cbtab title=”APA”]Wolters Kluwer Health (2016, December 30). Psychiatric Conditions Linked to Increased Risk of Long-Term Opioid Use. NeuroscienceNew. Retrieved December 30, 2016 from https://neurosciencenews.com/mental-health-opioid-use-5838/[/cbtab][cbtab title=”Chicago”]Wolters Kluwer Health “Psychiatric Conditions Linked to Increased Risk of Long-Term Opioid Use.” https://neurosciencenews.com/mental-health-opioid-use-5838/ (accessed December 30, 2016).[/cbtab][/cbtabs]


Abstract

Incident and long-term opioid therapy among patients with psychiatric conditions and medications: a national study of commercial health care claims

There is growing evidence that opioid prescribing in the United States follows a pattern in which patients who are at the highest risk of adverse outcomes from opioids are more likely to receive long-term opioid therapy. These patients include, in particular, those with substance use disorders (SUDs) and other psychiatric conditions. This study examined health insurance claims among 10,311,961 patients who filled prescriptions for opioids. Specifically, we evaluated how opioid receipt differed among patients with and without a wide range of preexisting psychiatric and behavioral conditions (ie, opioid and nonopioid SUDs, suicide attempts or other self-injury, motor vehicle crashes, and depressive, anxiety, and sleep disorders) and psychoactive medications (ie, antidepressants, benzodiazepines, hypnotics, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and medications used for SUD, tobacco cessation, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder). Relative to those without, patients with all assessed psychiatric conditions and medications had modestly greater odds of subsequently filling prescriptions for opioids and, in particular, substantially greater risk of long-term opioid receipt. Increases in risk for long-term opioid receipt in adjusted Cox regressions ranged from approximately 1.5-fold for prior attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder medication prescriptions (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.53; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.48-1.58) to approximately 3-fold for prior nonopioid SUD diagnoses (HR = 3.15; 95% CI, 3.06-3.24) and nearly 9-fold for prior opioid use disorder diagnoses (HR = 8.70; 95% CI, 8.20-9.24). In sum, we found evidence of greater opioid receipt among commercially insured patients with a breadth of psychiatric conditions. Future studies assessing behavioral outcomes associated with opioid prescribing should consider preexisting psychiatric conditions.

“Incident and long-term opioid therapy among patients with psychiatric conditions and medications: a national study of commercial health care claims” by Quinn, Patrick D.; Hur, Kwan; Chang, Zheng; Krebs, Erin E.; Bair, Matthew J.; Scott, Eric L.; Rickert, Martin E.; Gibbons, Robert D.; Kroenke, Kurt; and D’Onofrio, Brian M. in Pain. Published online December 22016 doi:10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000730

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