Associations between prescription and illicit stimulant and opioid use in the United States, 2015-2020

doi:10.1016/j.jsat.2022.108894

. 2022 Dec:143:108894.

doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2022.108894. Epub 2022 Sep 30.

Associations between prescription and illicit stimulant and opioid use in the United States, 2015-2020

Riley D Shearer¹, Abenaa Jones², Benjamin A Howell³, Joel E Segel⁴, Tyler N A Winkelman⁵

Affiliations

¹ University of Minnesota School of Public Health, 420 Delaware St SE, Mayo Building B681, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Health, Homelessness, and Criminal Justice Lab, Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute, 701 Park Ave., Suite PP7.700, Minneapolis, MN 55415, USA. Electronic address: shear162@umn.edu.
² Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
³ SEICHE Center for Health & Justice, Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St, New Haven 06510, USA; Section of General Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, PO Box 208025, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
⁴ Department of Health Policy and Administration, Penn State University, University Park, PA, USA; Penn State Cancer Institute, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA.
⁵ Health, Homelessness, and Criminal Justice Lab, Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute, 701 Park Ave., Suite PP7.700, Minneapolis, MN 55415, USA; Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Hennepin Healthcare, 716 S 7th St, Minneapolis, MN 55415, USA.

PMID: 36206585
PMCID: PMC9706463
DOI: 10.1016/j.jsat.2022.108894

Associations between prescription and illicit stimulant and opioid use in the United States, 2015-2020

Riley D Shearer et al. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2022 Dec.

. 2022 Dec:143:108894.

doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2022.108894. Epub 2022 Sep 30.

Authors

Riley D Shearer¹, Abenaa Jones², Benjamin A Howell³, Joel E Segel⁴, Tyler N A Winkelman⁵

Affiliations

¹ University of Minnesota School of Public Health, 420 Delaware St SE, Mayo Building B681, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Health, Homelessness, and Criminal Justice Lab, Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute, 701 Park Ave., Suite PP7.700, Minneapolis, MN 55415, USA. Electronic address: shear162@umn.edu.
² Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
³ SEICHE Center for Health & Justice, Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St, New Haven 06510, USA; Section of General Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, PO Box 208025, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
⁴ Department of Health Policy and Administration, Penn State University, University Park, PA, USA; Penn State Cancer Institute, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA.
⁵ Health, Homelessness, and Criminal Justice Lab, Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute, 701 Park Ave., Suite PP7.700, Minneapolis, MN 55415, USA; Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Hennepin Healthcare, 716 S 7th St, Minneapolis, MN 55415, USA.

PMID: 36206585
PMCID: PMC9706463
DOI: 10.1016/j.jsat.2022.108894

Abstract

Introduction: Overdose deaths involving opioids and stimulants continue to reach unprecedented levels in the United States. Although significant attention has been paid to the relationship between prescription and illicit opioid use, little work has focused on the association between prescription and illicit stimulant use. Thus, this study explores characteristics of those who use or misuse prescription stimulants and/or opioids and associations with use of cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin.

Methods: We used 2015-2020 data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Using adjusted multivariable logistic regression, we estimated the associations between past year prescription stimulant or prescription opioid prescribed use and misuse; various demographic characteristics; and past-year cocaine, methamphetamine, or heroin use.

Results: From 2015 to 2020, 4.9 and 9.8 million US adults annually reported misusing prescription stimulants and opioids, respectively. Individuals who misused prescription stimulants were more likely to be ages 18-25 (45.8 %; 95 % CI: 44.0-47.5) than individuals who misused prescription opioids (21.7 %; 95 % CI: 20.7-22.7). We observed higher rates of cocaine use among individuals reporting prescription stimulant misuse (12.0 %; 95 % CI: 11.0-12.9) compared to those reporting prescription opioid misuse (5.7 %; 95 % CI: 5.1-6.3, p < 0.001). Heroin use was more common among individuals with prescription opioid misuse (2.1 %; 95 % CI: 1.7-2.2) than prescription stimulant misuse (0.6 %; 95 % CI: 0.4-0.7, p < 0.001). However, rates of methamphetamine use among individuals with prescription stimulant misuse (2.4 %; 95 % CI: 1.9-3.0) did not differ from individuals with prescription opioid misuse (2.1 %; 95 % CI: 1.7-2.5, p = 0.67).

Conclusions: Prescription stimulant misuse, compared to prescription opioid misuse, was associated with higher levels of cocaine use but not methamphetamine use. Treatment providers should consider screening for other substance use disorders among people who report prescription stimulant use or misuse. Additional research should seek to understand the mechanism underlying the different associations between prescription stimulant misuse and cocaine or methamphetamine use.

Keywords: Cocaine; Methamphetamine; Prescription misuse; Stimulants.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest None.

Cited by

Differential Effects of Cocaine and Morphine on the Diurnal Regulation of the Mouse Nucleus Accumbens Proteome.
Ketchesin KD, Becker-Krail DD, Xue X, Wilson RS, Lam TT, Williams KR, Nairn AC, Tseng GC, Logan RW. Ketchesin KD, et al. J Proteome Res. 2023 Jul 7;22(7):2377-2390. doi: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.3c00126. Epub 2023 Jun 13. J Proteome Res. 2023. PMID: 37311105 Free PMC article.
"I Been Taking Adderall Mixing it With Lean, Hope I Don't Wake Up Out My Sleep": Harnessing Twitter to Understand Nonmedical Prescription Stimulant Use among Black Women and Men Subscribers.
Webster JL, Lakamana S, Ge Y, Sarker A. Webster JL, et al. medRxiv [Preprint]. 2024 Dec 5:2024.12.03.24318408. doi: 10.1101/2024.12.03.24318408. medRxiv. 2024. PMID: 39677440 Free PMC article. Preprint.
Associations between prescription stimulant use as prescribed, nonmedical use, and illicit stimulant use among adults evaluated for substance use treatment, 2017-2021.
Pickens CM, Jones CM, Guy GP Jr, Dailey Govoni T, Green JL. Pickens CM, et al. Drug Alcohol Depend Rep. 2023 Mar 30;7:100153. doi: 10.1016/j.dadr.2023.100153. eCollection 2023 Jun. Drug Alcohol Depend Rep. 2023. PMID: 37123433 Free PMC article.

References

1. Ballester J, Valentine G, & Sofuoglu M (2017). Pharmacological treatments for methamphetamine addiction: Current status and future directions. Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, 10(3), 305–314. 10.1080/17512433.2017.1268916 - DOI - PubMed
1. Butler AJ, Rehm J, & Fischer B (2017). Health outcomes associated with crack-cocaine use: Systematic review and meta-analyses. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 180, 401–416. 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.08.036 - DOI - PubMed
1. Chen L-Y, Crum RM, Strain EC, CalebAlexander G, Kaufmann C, & Mojtabai R (2016). Prescriptions, nonmedical use, and emergency department visits involving prescription stimulants. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 77(3), e297–e304. 10.4088/JCP.14m09291 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Chen L-Y, Crum RM, Strain EC, Martins SS, & Mojtabai R (2015). Patterns of concurrent substance use among adolescent nonmedical ADHD stimulant users. Addictive Behaviors, 49, 1–6. 10.1016/j.addbeh.2015.05.007 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Ciccarone D (2021). The rise of illicit fentanyls, stimulants and the fourth wave of the opioid overdose crisis. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 34(4), 344–350. 10.1097/YCO.0000000000000717 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Actions

MeSH terms

Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions

Substances

Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources
Medical
- MedlinePlus Health Information
Miscellaneous
- NCI CPTAC Assay Portal

[1] Ballester J, Valentine G, & Sofuoglu M (2017). Pharmacological treatments for methamphetamine addiction: Current status and future directions. Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, 10(3), 305–314. 10.1080/17512433.2017.1268916 - DOI - PubMed

[2] Ballester J, Valentine G, & Sofuoglu M (2017). Pharmacological treatments for methamphetamine addiction: Current status and future directions. Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, 10(3), 305–314. 10.1080/17512433.2017.1268916 - DOI - PubMed

[3] Butler AJ, Rehm J, & Fischer B (2017). Health outcomes associated with crack-cocaine use: Systematic review and meta-analyses. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 180, 401–416. 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.08.036 - DOI - PubMed

[4] Butler AJ, Rehm J, & Fischer B (2017). Health outcomes associated with crack-cocaine use: Systematic review and meta-analyses. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 180, 401–416. 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.08.036 - DOI - PubMed

[5] Chen L-Y, Crum RM, Strain EC, CalebAlexander G, Kaufmann C, & Mojtabai R (2016). Prescriptions, nonmedical use, and emergency department visits involving prescription stimulants. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 77(3), e297–e304. 10.4088/JCP.14m09291 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[6] Chen L-Y, Crum RM, Strain EC, CalebAlexander G, Kaufmann C, & Mojtabai R (2016). Prescriptions, nonmedical use, and emergency department visits involving prescription stimulants. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 77(3), e297–e304. 10.4088/JCP.14m09291 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[7] Chen L-Y, Crum RM, Strain EC, Martins SS, & Mojtabai R (2015). Patterns of concurrent substance use among adolescent nonmedical ADHD stimulant users. Addictive Behaviors, 49, 1–6. 10.1016/j.addbeh.2015.05.007 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[8] Chen L-Y, Crum RM, Strain EC, Martins SS, & Mojtabai R (2015). Patterns of concurrent substance use among adolescent nonmedical ADHD stimulant users. Addictive Behaviors, 49, 1–6. 10.1016/j.addbeh.2015.05.007 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[9] Ciccarone D (2021). The rise of illicit fentanyls, stimulants and the fourth wave of the opioid overdose crisis. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 34(4), 344–350. 10.1097/YCO.0000000000000717 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[10] Ciccarone D (2021). The rise of illicit fentanyls, stimulants and the fourth wave of the opioid overdose crisis. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 34(4), 344–350. 10.1097/YCO.0000000000000717 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Save citation to file

Email citation

Add to Collections

Add to My Bibliography

Your saved search

Create a file for external citation management software

Your RSS Feed

Associations between prescription and illicit stimulant and opioid use in the United States, 2015-2020

Affiliations

Associations between prescription and illicit stimulant and opioid use in the United States, 2015-2020

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Similar articles

Cited by

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical

Miscellaneous

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Similar articles

Cited by

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Related information

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical

Miscellaneous