TY - JOUR
T1 - Racial/ethnic differences in trends in heroin use and heroin-related risk behaviors among nonmedical prescription opioid users
AU - Martins, Silvia S.
AU - Santaella-Tenorio, Julian
AU - Marshall, Brandon D.L.
AU - Maldonado, Adriana
AU - Cerdá, Magdalena
N1 - Funding Information:
The data reported herein come from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) public use files and made publicly available by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Funding source: This study was partially funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse–National Institutes of Health (NIDA–NIH grant K01DA030449 , NIDA–NIH grant R03DA037770 , NIDA–NIH grant R01DA037866 ), the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child and Human Development–National Institutes of Health , (NICHD–NIH grant HD020667 ). NIDA, NICHD and SAMHSA had no further role in the data analysis or interpretation of results. Julian Santaella is funded by the J. William Fulbright and the Colciencias doctoral scholarships. Adriana Maldonado is funded by the Colciencias doctoral scholarships.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.
PY - 2015/6/1
Y1 - 2015/6/1
N2 - Background: This study examines changing patterns of past-year heroin use and heroin-related risk behaviors among individuals with nonmedical use of prescription opioids (NMUPO) by racial/ethnic groups in the United States. Methods: We used data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) from 2002 to 2005 and 2008 to 2011, resulting in a total sample of N= 448,597. Results: Past-year heroin use increased among individuals with NMUPO and increases varied by frequency of past year NMUPO and race/ethnicity. Those with NMUPO in the 2008-2011 period had almost twice the odds of heroin use as those with NMUPO in the 2002-2005 period (OR. = 1.89, 95%CI: 1.50, 2.39), with higher increases in non-Hispanic (NH) Whites and Hispanics. In 2008-2011, the risk of past year heroin use, ever injecting heroin, past-year heroin abuse or dependence, and the perception of availability of heroin increased as the frequency of NMUPO increased across respondents of all race/ethnicities. Conclusion: Individuals with NMUPO, particularly non-Hispanic Whites, are at high risk of heroin use and heroin-related risk behaviors. These results suggest that frequent nonmedical users of prescription opioids, regardless of race/ethnicity, should be the focus of novel public health efforts to prevent and mitigate the harms of heroin use.
AB - Background: This study examines changing patterns of past-year heroin use and heroin-related risk behaviors among individuals with nonmedical use of prescription opioids (NMUPO) by racial/ethnic groups in the United States. Methods: We used data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) from 2002 to 2005 and 2008 to 2011, resulting in a total sample of N= 448,597. Results: Past-year heroin use increased among individuals with NMUPO and increases varied by frequency of past year NMUPO and race/ethnicity. Those with NMUPO in the 2008-2011 period had almost twice the odds of heroin use as those with NMUPO in the 2002-2005 period (OR. = 1.89, 95%CI: 1.50, 2.39), with higher increases in non-Hispanic (NH) Whites and Hispanics. In 2008-2011, the risk of past year heroin use, ever injecting heroin, past-year heroin abuse or dependence, and the perception of availability of heroin increased as the frequency of NMUPO increased across respondents of all race/ethnicities. Conclusion: Individuals with NMUPO, particularly non-Hispanic Whites, are at high risk of heroin use and heroin-related risk behaviors. These results suggest that frequent nonmedical users of prescription opioids, regardless of race/ethnicity, should be the focus of novel public health efforts to prevent and mitigate the harms of heroin use.
KW - Heroin
KW - Heroin-risk behaviors
KW - National Survey on Drug Use and Health
KW - Nonmedical use of prescription opioids
KW - Race/ethnicity
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U2 - 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.03.020
DO - 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.03.020
M3 - Article
C2 - 25869542
AN - SCOPUS:84929959301
SN - 0376-8716
VL - 151
SP - 278
EP - 283
JO - Drug and alcohol dependence
JF - Drug and alcohol dependence
ER -