Survey finds that of the 1 in 3 U.S. adults who used a prescription opioid in 2015, 1 in 8 misused them

More than a third (91.8 million) of the U.S. adult population used prescription opioids in 2015, and among these adults, 12.5% reported misuse, a survey found.

To estimate the prevalence of prescription opioid use, misuse, and use disorders and motivations for misuse among U.S. adults, researchers applied data from the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Among 72,600 eligible civilian, noninstitutionalized adults selected, 51,200 completed the survey interview. Results were published Aug. 1 by Annals of Internal Medicine.

Weighted NSDUH estimates suggested that, in 2015, 91.8 million (37.8%) adults used prescription opioids, 11.5 million (4.7%) misused them, and 1.9 million (0.8%) had a use disorder. Among adults with prescription opioid use, 12.5% reported misuse, and among that subset, 16.7% reported a prescription opioid use disorder.

The most commonly reported motivation for misuse was to relieve physical pain (63.4%). Misuse and use disorders were most commonly reported in adults who were uninsured, were unemployed, had low income, or had behavioral health problems. Among adults who misused the drugs, 59.9% reported using opioids without a prescription, and 40.8% obtained prescription opioids for free from friends or relatives for their most recent episode of misuse. The survey also showed that 13.8% of adults with use disorders obtained their most recently misused prescription opioids from drug dealers or strangers.

The authors noted that the results suggest a need to improve access to evidence-based pain management and to decrease excessive prescribing that may leave unused opioids available for potential misuse.

Such widespread social availability of prescription opioids suggests that the patients who are prescribed the drugs often don't fully use them, the authors continued. The findings highlight the importance of interventions targeting medication sharing, selling, and diversion and underscore the need to follow prescribing guidelines to minimize their availability.

An editorial stated that access to evidence-based pain management and a decrease in excessive prescribing are interventions that physicians can implement in their medical practices. But, the editorial continued, a much broader “upstream” approach is necessary.

“The action will need to come from clinicians as well as those outside the medical profession who can help to address the underlying issues of poverty, uninsurance, and hopelessness that feed our current epidemic of opioid misuse,” the editorial concluded.