A new study found that drug misuse and overdose-related deaths are still on the rise despite the reduced rate of nonmedical use of prescribed opioids.
Researchers from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) published a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, reporting that the nonmedical use of opioids has decreased to 4.9 percent in 2013 from 5.4 percent in 2003.
The bad news is, from 2003 to 2013 the prevalence of disorders related to the drug's misuse increased from 0.6 to 0.9 percent. The number of deaths due to opioid-related overdose rose from 4.5 for every 100,000 cases in 2003 to 7.8 per 100,000 overdose deaths in 2013.
Researchers believe that the increase in opioid use-related deaths was due to some nonmedical opioid users discontinuing their use abruptly.
"We found a significant decrease in the percentage of nonmedical use of prescription opioids, as well as significant increases in the prevalence of prescription opioid use disorders, high-frequency use and related mortality among adults," SAMHSA's Dr. Beth Han said.
She added that their findings stress on why it is important for the medical community to conduct a coordinated and comprehensive effort to address the prescription opioid problem.
According to their study, the increase in opioid misuse and related disorders suggests that more patients are experiencing an "inexorable progression" from initial to frequent opioid use.
The researchers said that the prevalence of opioid misuse mortality can decrease if doctors reduce their rate of prescribing opioids and look into other treatment options for pain that are less risky and addictive.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that, in line with the growing opioid misuse problem, they would allocate $20 million to support the health care community in combating the prevalence of unprescribed opioid use.
SAMHSA also developed an Opioid Overdose Prevention Toolkit that contains resources on decreasing the risk of death due to opioid-related overdose.
"It offers ways that medical providers, people who use opioids nonmedically and others can recognize the signs of an overdose and effectively reverse it," Han said.
Opioids are traditionally used to relieve moderate to severe pain by reducing the pain signals reaching the brain, thereby diminishing the effect of painful stimuli. Treatment for opioid misuse disorders include inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation. Related services in correctional facilities and self-help options are also being considered.
Photo: Iqbal Osman | Flickr
