RTI uses cookies to offer you the best experience online. By clicking “accept” on this website, you opt in and you agree to the use of cookies. If you would like to know more about how RTI uses cookies and how to manage them please view our Privacy Policy here. You can “opt out” or change your mind by visiting: http://optout.aboutads.info/. Click “accept” to agree.
Past-year prevalence of prescription opioid misuse among those 11 to 30 years of age in the United States
A systematic review and meta-analysis
Jordan, A. E., Blackburn, N. A., Des Jarlais, D. C., & Hagan, H. (2017). Past-year prevalence of prescription opioid misuse among those 11 to 30 years of age in the United States: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 77, 31-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2017.03.007
Background: There are high levels of prescription and consumption of prescription opioids in the US. Misuse of prescription opioids has been shown to be highly correlated with prescription opioid-related morbidity and mortality including fatal and non-fatal overdose. We characterized the past-year prevalence of prescription opioid misuse among those 11-30 years of age in the US.
Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were carried out following a published protocol and PRISMA guidelines. We searched electronic databases; reports were eligible if they were published between 1/1/1990-5/30/2014, and included data on individuals 11-30 years of age from the US. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.
Results: A total of 3211 abstracts were reviewed for inclusion; after discarding duplicates and identifying non-eligible reports, a total of 19 unique reports, providing 34 estimates, were included in the final systematic review and meta-analysis. The range of past-year prescription opioid misuse prevalence the reports was 0.7%-16.3%. An increase in prevalence of 0.4% was observed over the years of data collection.
Conclusions: This systematic review and meta-analysis found a high prevalence of past-year prescription opioid misuse among individuals 11-30 years of age. Importantly, we identified an increase in past-year prevalence 1990-2014. Misuse of prescription opioids has played an important role in national increases of fatal and non-fatal drug overdose, heroin use and injection, and HIV and HCV infection among young people. The observed high and increasing prevalence of prescription opioid misuse is an urgent public health issue. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
