Titre : | Increased use of heroin as an initiating opioid of abuse (2017) |
Auteurs : | T. J. CICERO ; M. S. ELLIS ; Z. A. KASPER |
Type de document : | Article : Périodique |
Dans : | Addictive Behaviors (Vol.74, November 2017) |
Article en page(s) : | 63-66 |
Langues: | Anglais |
Discipline : | EPI (Epidémiologie / Epidemiology) |
Mots-clés : |
Thésaurus géographique ETATS-UNISThésaurus mots-clés HEROINE ; OPIOIDES ; INITIATION ; SURDOSE ; MEDICAMENTS ; ABUS ; EVOLUTION |
Résumé : |
Introduction: Given the relatively recent growth in access to heroin and a more permissive atmosphere surrounding its use, we hypothesized that an increasing number of persons with limited experience and tolerance to opioids would experiment with heroin as their first opioid rather than more common prescription opioid analgesics.
Methods: Individuals entering substance abuse treatment for an opioid use disorder in the period 2010-2016 (N = 5885) were asked about the specific opioid they first regularly used to get high. To limit long-term recall and survival bias, analyses was restricted to opioid initiation that occurred in the past ten years (2005-2015). Results: In 2005, only 8.7% of opioid initiators started with heroin, but this sharply increased to 33.3% (p Conclusions: Our data document that, as the most commonly prescribed opioids - hydrocodone and oxycodone - became less accessible due to supply-side interventions, the use of heroin as an initiating opioid has grown at an alarming rate. Given that opioid novices have limited tolerance to opioids, a slight imprecision in dosing inherent in heroin use is likely to be an important factor contributing to the growth in heroin-related over dose fatalities in recent years. Highlights: Heroin as the first opioid of abuse has grown significantly in the past decade. Heroin as an initiating opioid now exceeds hydrocodone and oxycodone. Such increases among inexperienced opioid users could lead to increased risk of overdose. |
Domaine : | Autres substances / Other substances ; Drogues illicites / Illicit drugs |
Affiliation : | Washington University in St. Louis, Department of Psychiatry, St. Louis, MO, USA |
URL : | http://www.bu.edu/aodhealth/2017/09/28/heroin-is-increasingly-the-initial-opioid-used-by-individuals-who-develop-opioid-use-disorder/ |
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