Prescription drug use and misuse in a cohort of people who inject drugs (PWID) in Baltimore

Alexia Anagnostopoulos¹, Alison G Abraham², Becky L Genberg³, Gregory D Kirk⁴, Shruti H Mehta⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N Wolfe Street, Baltimore 21205, MD, USA. Electronic address: alexia.anagnostopoulos@usz.ch.
² Department of Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 N Wolfe Street, Baltimore 21287, MD, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N Wolfe Street, Baltimore 21205, MD, USA. Electronic address: alison.abraham@jhu.edu.
³ Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N Wolfe Street, Baltimore 21205, MD, USA. Electronic address: bgenberg@jhu.edu.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N Wolfe Street, Baltimore 21205, MD, USA; Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 N Wolfe Street, Baltimore 21287, MD, USA. Electronic address: gdk@jhu.edu.
⁵ Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N Wolfe Street, Baltimore 21205, MD, USA. Electronic address: smehta@jhu.edu.

PMID: 29425791
PMCID: PMC5845821
DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.01.024

Prescription drug use and misuse in a cohort of people who inject drugs (PWID) in Baltimore

Alexia Anagnostopoulos et al. Addict Behav. 2018 Jun.

. 2018 Jun:81:39-45.

doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.01.024. Epub 2018 Feb 2.

Authors

Alexia Anagnostopoulos¹, Alison G Abraham², Becky L Genberg³, Gregory D Kirk⁴, Shruti H Mehta⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N Wolfe Street, Baltimore 21205, MD, USA. Electronic address: alexia.anagnostopoulos@usz.ch.
² Department of Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 N Wolfe Street, Baltimore 21287, MD, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N Wolfe Street, Baltimore 21205, MD, USA. Electronic address: alison.abraham@jhu.edu.
³ Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N Wolfe Street, Baltimore 21205, MD, USA. Electronic address: bgenberg@jhu.edu.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N Wolfe Street, Baltimore 21205, MD, USA; Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 N Wolfe Street, Baltimore 21287, MD, USA. Electronic address: gdk@jhu.edu.
⁵ Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N Wolfe Street, Baltimore 21205, MD, USA. Electronic address: smehta@jhu.edu.

PMID: 29425791
PMCID: PMC5845821
DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.01.024

Abstract

Background: Prescription drug misuse and its consequences (e.g., overdose) are a major public health concern. While national focus has been on opioids, misuse of sedatives/tranquilizers also occurs. Here we describe the use, correlates, and sources of prescription drugs in a community-based cohort of people who inject drugs (PWID).

Methods: We included participants of the AIDS Linked to the IntraVenous Experience (ALIVE) study in follow-up in 2014. We defined prescription drug use as use of opioids or sedatives/tranquilizers considering both medical "prescribed by a doctor" and non-medical sources "obtained from the street/friend/relative." Correlates were evaluated separately for opioids and sedatives/tranquilizers using logistic regression and included socioeconomic factors, health conditions, substance use, and health care access.

Results: 823 predominantly African-American (90.6%) and male (66.3%) ALIVE participants with a median age of 55 were included. Prevalence of prescription opioid and sedative/tranquilizer use was 25.3% and 16.3% respectively. While the majority (70%) obtained prescription drugs exclusively through medical sources, the 30% who reported any non-medical source were also more likely to use other substances by injection and non-injection routes. PWID reporting prescription drug use (from medical and non-medical sources) were significantly more likely to report other substance use, mental health disorder, and recent contact with health care providers or detoxification facilities.

Conclusions: Prescription drug use was highly prevalent among PWID. While it is difficult to distinguish medically indicated from non-medical use, high levels of prescription drug use in conjunction with other drugs and alcohol heightens the risk for drug overdose and other adverse consequences.

Keywords: People who inject drugs (PWID); Prescription drug use; Substance use; The ALIVE study.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

**Figure 1**
Independent correlates of prescription drug use: results from multivariable logistic regression *During the prior 6 months ^#During the prior week

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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Prescription drug use and misuse in a cohort of people who inject drugs (PWID) in Baltimore

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Prescription drug use and misuse in a cohort of people who inject drugs (PWID) in Baltimore

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Conflict of interest statement

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