Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Apr-Jun;50(2):159-166.
doi: 10.1080/02791072.2017.1368747. Epub 2017 Sep 12.

Nonmedical Opioid Use in Relation to Recency of Heroin Use in a Nationally Representative Sample of Adults in the United States

Joseph J Palamar  1 , Jenni A Shearston  1   2
Affiliations

Nonmedical Opioid Use in Relation to Recency of Heroin Use in a Nationally Representative Sample of Adults in the United States

Joseph J Palamar et al. J Psychoactive Drugs. 2018 Apr-Jun.

Abstract

Nonmedical opioid use has been linked to lifetime heroin use; however, research is needed to examine associations between nonmedical opioid use and current or recent heroin use, as current users appear to be at highest risk for harm. Data were from a nationally representative sample of non-institutionalized adults (age 18-64) in households participating in the National Survey of Drug Use and Health who reported lifetime heroin use (2005-2014, N = 7,111). We examined associations between frequency and recency of nonmedical opioid use and recency of heroin use. Most (86.7%) lifetime heroin users reported no heroin use in the last 12 months, while 6.1% reported current use (use in the last 30 days). The majority of the sample (69.3%) reported lifetime nonmedical opioid use; 14.3% reported nonmedical use in the last 30 days. Adjusted odds for current heroin use increased as frequency of past-year nonmedical opioid use increased, with a quarter (24.7%) of current heroin users reporting nonmedical opioid use on 157-365 days in the last year. Over half (54.7%) of current heroin users reported current nonmedical opioid use. Prevention efforts should consider that high-frequency and current nonmedical opioid use is a robust correlate of continued heroin use.

Keywords: Analgesics; heroin; nonmedical drug use; opioids.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 4. Washington, DC: Author; 2000.
    1. Banerjee G, Edelman EJ, Barry DT, Becker WC, Cerdá M, Crytal S, Gaither JR, Gordon AJ, Gordon KS, Kerns RD, Martins SS, Fiellin DA, Marshall BDL. Non-medical use of prescription opioids is associated with heroin initiation among US veterans: A prospective cohort study. Addiction. 2016;111(11):2021–31. doi: 10.1111/add.13491. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Butler JS, Coffey LE, Griffin AB, Hunter DC, Johnson I, Liu S, Livengood M, Martin PC, McKamey AC, Morton KB, Myers SK, Parsons S, Pratt J, Riggsbee BH, Zelko H. Data collection final report: Prepared for the 2011 methodological resource book. Research Triangle Park, NC: RTI International; 2012. [accessed July 13, 2015]. http://archive.samhsa.gov/data/2k12/NSDUH2011MRB/NSDUHmrbDCFR2011.pdf.
    1. Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. Behavioral health trends in the United States: Results from the 2014 national survey on drug use and health. 2015 (HHS Publication No. SMA 15-4927, NSDUH Series H-50). https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUH-FRR1-2014/NSDUH-FR....
    1. Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. 2015 national survey on drug use and health: Methodological summary and definitions. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; 2016.

LinkOut - more resources