NCHS reports opioid analgesic use

ATLANTA — From 2002 to 2012, the percentage of opioid analgesic users who used an opioid analgesic stronger than morphine increased from 17% to 37%, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics reported Wednesday. 

 

Use of opioid analgesics varied significantly among population subgroups. Older adults (ages 40 to 59 years old and 60 years and over) were more likely to use opioid analgesics than adults aged 20 to 39 years. Women were more likely to use opioid analgesics than men, and non-Hispanic white adults were more likely to use opioid analgesics than Hispanic adults. There was no significant difference in the use of opioid analgesics between non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black adults. Women age 60 years and older were more likely to use opioid analgesics than men age 60 years and older.

 

The percentage of adults aged 20 and over who used a prescription opioid analgesic in the past 30 days significantly increased from 5% in 1999–2002 to 6.9% in 2003–2006, and then remained stable through 2011–2012 (6.9%). Together with findings from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988–1994), these findings indicate that the use of opioid analgesics among U.S. adults has more than doubled since 1988–1994, when 3.4% used opioid analgesics.

 

Among adults who used opioids during 1999–2012, the percentage of adults who used only a weaker-than-morphine opioid analgesic declined from 42.4% to 20%.