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. 2021 Jan:120:108158.
doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2020.108158. Epub 2020 Oct 6.

A clash of epidemics: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic response on opioid overdose

Benjamin P Linas  1 , Alexandra Savinkina  2 , Carolina Barbosa  3 , Peter P Mueller  4 , Magdalena Cerdá  5 , Katherine Keyes  6 , Jagpreet Chhatwal  4
Affiliations

A clash of epidemics: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic response on opioid overdose

Benjamin P Linas et al. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) will have a lasting impact on public health. In addition to the direct effects of COVID-19 infection, physical distancing and quarantine interventions have indirect effects on health. While necessary, physical distancing interventions to control the spread of COVID-19 could have multiple impacts on people living with opioid use disorder, including impacts on mental health that lead to greater substance use, the availability of drug supply, the ways that people use drugs, treatment-seeking behaviors, and retention in care. The degree to which COVID-19 will impact the opioid epidemic and through which of the possible mechanisms that we discuss is important to monitor. We employed simulation modeling to demonstrate the potential impact of physical distancing on overdose mortality.

Keywords: COVID-19; Opioid use disorder; Overdose; RESPOND.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Impact of various durations of physical distancing interventions on opioid overdose deaths in Massachusetts March 2020–March 2021. The horizontal axis reflects simulated calendar time. The vertical axis is denominated in terms of fatal overdose counts. Each line represents a different duration of physical distancing intervention, assuming a 20% reduction in the rate of both initiation onto medications for opioid use disorder, and retention on medications.
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References

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