Are opioids effective analgesics and is physiological opioid dependence benign? Revising current assumptions to effectively manage long-term opioid therapy and its deprescribing.

A re-examination of clinical principles of long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) for chronic pain is long overdue amid the ongoing opioid crisis. Most patients on LTOT report ineffectiveness (poor pain control, function and health) but still find deprescribing challenging. Although prescribed as analgesics, opioids more likely provide pain relief primarily through reward system actions (enhanced relief and motivation) and placebo effect and less through antinociceptive effects. The unavoidable physiologic LTOT dependence can automatically lead to a paradoxical worsening of pain, disability and medical instability (maladaptive opioid dependence) without addiction due to allostatic opponent neuroadaptations involving reward/antireward and nociceptive/antinociceptive systems. This opioid-induced chronic pain syndrome (OICP) can persist/progress whether LTOT dose is maintained at the same level, increased, decreased or discontinued. Current conceptualization of LTOT as a straightforward long-term analgesic therapy appears incongruous in view of the complex mechanisms of opioid action, LTOT dependence and OICP. LTOT can be more appropriately conceptualized as therapeutic induction and maintenance of an adaptive LTOT dependence for functional improvement irrespective of analgesic benefits. Adaptive LTOT dependence should be ideally used for a limited time to achieve maximum functional recovery and deprescribed while maintaining functional gains. Patients on LTOT should be regularly re-evaluated to identify if maladaptive LTOT dependence with OICP has diminished any functional gains or leads to ineffectiveness. Ineffective LTOT (with maladaptive LTOT dependence) should be modified to make it safer and more effective. An adequately functional life without opioids is the ideal healthy long-term goal for both LTOT initiation and LTOT modification.

Monotonic Association of Increasing Past-Year Substance Use Disorder across a Four-Level Trauma Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Hierarchy in a Nationwide Sample.

OBJECTIVE: There is limited information on the differences in the association of substance use disorders (SUD) with four clinically relevant hierarchical groups based on trauma exposure and its consequences (1-no trauma; 2-trauma but no PTSD; 3-remitted PTSD; and 4-current PTSD). METHODS: Among adults enrolled in a large nationally representative survey, the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions Wave III (NESARC III), we compared differences in SUD prevalence between each of the hierarchical trauma group and the prior group adjusting for potentially confounding factors. RESULTS: Unadjusted results show that each increase in the hierarchy was associated with a greater likelihood of SUD diagnoses, even after adjusting for potentially confounding variables. However, after adjusting for covariates, comparison of adults with past to those with current PTSD showed persistence of SUD indicators. CONCLUSION: SUD prevalence increased substantially with trauma exposure even without PTSD and monotonically increased further with past and current PTSD, respectively, illustrating the differential effect of the clinical consequences of trauma.

Twelve-Month Retention in Opioid Agonist Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder Among Patients With and Without HIV.

Although opioid agonist therapy (OAT) is associated with positive health outcomes, including improved HIV management, long-term retention in OAT remains low among patients with opioid use disorder (OUD). Using data from the Veterans Aging Cohort Study (VACS), we identify variables independently associated with OAT retention overall and by HIV status. Among 7,334 patients with OUD, 13.7% initiated OAT, and 27.8% were retained 12-months later. Likelihood of initiation and retention did not vary by HIV status. Variables associated with improved likelihood of retention included receiving buprenorphine (relative to methadone), receiving both buprenorphine and methadone at some point over the 12-month period, or diagnosis of HCV. History of homelessness was associated with a lower likelihood of retention. Predictors of retention were largely distinct between patients with HIV and patients without HIV. Findings highlight the need for clinical, systems, and research initiatives to better understand and improve OAT retention.

Complex Persistent Opioid Dependence-an Opioid-induced Chronic Pain Syndrome.

OPINION STATEMENT: Long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) for chronic cancer and non-cancer pain is commonly ineffective in providing its stated goal of improving function through good control of pain. Opioid tapering (slow dose reduction and/or discontinuation), the logical solution, also appears to be ineffective among many patients on LTOT as it often leads to even worse pain control and function, leaving the patients and providers managing LTOT in a clinical conundrum with little treatment choices. Complex persistent opioid dependence (CPOD) was recently offered as a heuristic to explain this clinical conundrum exemplified by the ineffectiveness of both LTOT and opioid tapering. This manuscript provides a detailed description of the neurobehavioral underpinnings of CPOD, explaining how long-term opioid use can lead to more pain even while experiencing relief with each opioid dose. CPOD is characterized by the allostatic opponent mechanisms of neuroadaptations related to the progression of opioid dependence and tolerance involving nociceptive/anti-nociceptive brain systems causing opioid-induced hyperalgesia and reward/anti-reward systems causing hyperkatefia or suffering that induces pain experience through the cognitive/emotional component of pain mechanisms. "Opioid Induced Chronic Pain syndrome" (OICP) is offered as an alternate clinical diagnostic term instead of CPOD that has several limitations as a diagnosis term including poor patient acceptance due to stigma towards addiction and clinical confounding with opioid use disorder, a related but separate clinical entity. OICP with LTOT is conceptualized as a recoverable iatrogenic problem that can be managed by pain providers. Broad guidance on management of OICP is also provided.

Who Uses Veterans Mental Health Services?: A National Observational Study of Male Veteran and Nonveteran Mental Health Service Users.

ABSTRACT: Mental health (MH) research among veterans receiving services from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is extensive and growing and informs many clinical practice guidelines. We used nationally representative survey data to examine the generalizability of this extensive body of research by comparing sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of male veteran veterans health service (VHS) users (n = 491) with veteran non-VHS users (n = 840) and nonveteran (n = 6300) MH service users. VHS users were older, more often reported Black race, and less likely to have private or Medicaid insurance, but had similar prevalence of psychiatric or substance use disorder diagnoses but with a greater prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). VHS users reported higher rates of medical diagnoses, pain interference, and poorer physical and MH status. These results suggest that VHA MH research may be reasonably generalizable to US mental health service users with caveats regarding age, PTSD diagnosis, pain, and racial distribution.

Complex Persistent Opioid Dependence with Long-term Opioids: a Gray Area That Needs Definition, Better Understanding, Treatment Guidance, and Policy Changes.

The multitude of treatments available for tens of millions of US adults with moderate/severe chronic pain have limited efficacy. Long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) is a widely available option for controlling pain among patients with chronic pain refractory to other treatments. The recent recognition of LTOT inefficacy and complications has led to more frequent opioid tapering, which in turn has revealed its own set of complications. The occurrence of the same set of symptoms-worsening pain, declining function, and clinical instability-in contrasting contexts of LTOT ineffectiveness and opioid tapering has led to increasing recognition of the utility of complex persistent opioid dependence (CPOD), a clinically distinct but biologically similar state compared with opioid use disorder as an explanatory diagnosis/heuristic. Recent guidelines for LTOT tapering have incorporated buprenorphine treatment based on CPOD concepts as a recommended treatment for problems due to opioid tapering with limited supportive evidence. The increasing utilization of buprenorphine for both LTOT ineffectiveness and opioid tapering problems raises the urgent need for a review of the clinical definition, mechanisms, and treatment of CPOD and pertinent policies. In this manuscript, we discuss various issues related to CPOD that requires further clarification through research and policy development.

Systematic Review of Pain Severity and Opioid Craving in Chronic Pain and Opioid Use Disorder.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate measurement and associations between pain severity and opioid craving in individuals with chronic pain on long-term opioid therapy and/or with opioid use disorder. STUDY DESIGN: . Systematic review of randomized controlled trials and observational studies. METHODS: . The PubMed, EMBASE, and PsycINFO databases were searched in October 2018. Eligible studies evaluated pain severity and opioid craving in individuals with chronic pain on long-term opioid therapy and/or with opioid use disorder. Two reviewers independently screened eligible studies, assessed risk of bias, and extracted data. RESULTS: Of 625 studies, 16 fulfilled the inclusion/exclusion criteria of this review and were grouped by diagnostic focus (i.e., chronic pain on long-term opioid therapy, opioid use disorder, or both). Methods of assessment varied considerably across studies, especially with respect to opioid craving in chronic pain populations. Mean levels of pain were at what is considered moderate to severe in individuals with chronic pain and/or opioid use disorder. There was a modest positive relationship between pain and opioid craving that was more pronounced in studies of individuals with opioid use disorder compared with those with chronic pain on long-term opioid therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Pain severity and opioid craving are likely related, but inconsistencies in measurement limit confidence. The overall quality of evidence is moderate, and careful consideration of how pain and craving are assessed in both chronic pain and opioid use disorder patients is warranted.

Initiating opioid agonist treatment for opioid use disorder nationally in the Veterans Health Administration: Who gets what?

Background: Despite substantial benefits associated with opioid agonist treatment (OAT) with buprenorphine and methadone for opioid use disorder (OUD), only a small proportion of patients with OUD initiate OAT. There is a lack of studies addressing the correlates of OAT initiation among patients with OUD. Methods: Using Veterans Health Administration (VHA) national administrative data, we identified veterans with OUD who started OAT with either buprenorphine or methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) in fiscal year (FY) 2012 (first prescription of buprenorphine or first methadone clinic visit after the first 60 days of FY) and those who received no OAT that year. Multivariate logistic regression models including sociodemographic characteristics, diagnoses, and service and psychotropic drug use variables were used to identify independent predictors of OAT initiation. Results: Greater age (10-year increments; odds ratio [OR]: 0.96, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.0.9-0.97) and black race (OR: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.38-0.55) were associated with lower odds of being started on buprenorphine compared with no OAT, but not with MMT initiation. Veterans with cocaine and anxiolytic-sedative hypnotic use disorders had higher odds of being started on both buprenorphine and methadone compared with no OAT. Receipt of any mental health inpatient treatment was associated with higher odds of being started on buprenorphine but not methadone. Overall, we were unable to identify a robust set of patient characteristics associated with initiation of OAT. Conclusion: This study points out the stark reality that in the middle of an opioid crisis, we have very little insight into which patients with OUD initiate OAT.

Evaluation of an Integrated, Multidisciplinary Program to Address Unsafe Use of Opioids Prescribed for Pain.

Objectives: Unsafe use of opioids prescribed for pain is a common challenge in primary care. We aimed to describe a novel clinical program designed to address this issue-the Opioid Reassessment Clinic-and evaluate preliminary efficacy. Methods: The Opioid Reassessment Clinic is a multidisciplinary care team staffed by an internist, addiction psychiatrist, advanced practice nurse, and health psychologist designed to perform enhanced assessment and longitudinal treatment of patients with unsafe use of opioids prescribed for pain. We assessed preliminary efficacy of the clinic using a priori-defined metrics at the patient, provider, clinic process, and health system levels. Results: Of referred patients (N = 87), 84% had a history of substance abuse/dependence and 70% had current misuse of prescribed opioids; 22% received a new substance use disorder diagnosis, each of whom engaged in addiction treatment. Among primary care physicians, 48% referred a patient to the clinic. In terms of process metrics, high fidelity to structured clinical assessments was assisted by templated electronic progress notes. Wait time averaged 22.1 days while length of treatment averaged 137 days. Urine drug testing was performed on 91% of patients an average of 6.4 times, while assessing out-of-system opioid receipt occurred universally. Systems-level findings included evidence of institutional support: hiring a nurse case manager to help with care coordination. Conclusions: Results suggest the Opioid Reassessment Clinic was effective in the management of a small group of high-complexity patients. Wide-scale dissemination may require adapted care models.

Multimodal Treatment Options, Including Rotating to Buprenorphine, Within a Multidisciplinary Pain Clinic for Patients on Risky Opioid Regimens: A Quality Improvement Study.

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate a novel clinical program designed to address unsafe use of opioids prescribed for pain-the Opioid Reassessment Clinic (ORC)-to inform practice and health system improvement. Design: Controlled, retrospective cohort study. Setting: The ORC is a multidisciplinary clinic in a primary care setting in a Veterans Health Administration hospital designed to perform longitudinal treatment of patients with unsafe use of opioids prescribed for pain, including tapering or rotating to the partial opioid agonist buprenorphine. Subjects: We included patients referred to the ORC from March 1, 2016, to March 1, 2017, who had an intake appointment (intervention group) and who did not (control group). Methods: We compared a priori-defined metrics at the patient, clinic process, and health system levels and compared metrics between groups. Results: During the study period, 114 veterans were referred to the ORC, and 71 (62%) of these had an intake appointment. Those in the intervention group were more likely to trial buprenorphine (N = 41, 62% vs N = 1, 2%, P < 0.01) and had greater reductions in their full agonist morphine equivalent daily dose than those in the control group (30 mg [interquartile range {IQR} = 0-120] vs 0 mg [IQR = 0-20] decrease, P < 0.01). Of those engaging in the ORC, 20 (30%) had not transitioned chronic pain management back to their primary care providers (PCPs) by the end of follow-up. Only one patient transitioned the management of buprenorphine to the PCP. Conclusions: Results suggest the ORC was effective in reducing total prescribed opioid doses and in transitioning patients to partial-agonist therapy, but PCP adoption strategies are needed.

The conundrum of opioid tapering in long-term opioid therapy for chronic pain: A commentary.

BACKGROUND: In response to the opioid epidemic and new guidelines, many patients on high-dose long term opioid therapy (LTOT) for chronic pain are getting tapered off opioids. As a result, a unique clinical challenge is emerging: while many on LTOT have poor pain control, functional decline, psychiatric instability, aberrancies and misuse, these issues may often worsen with opioid tapering. Currently, a clear explanation and practical guidance on how to manage this perplexing clinical scenario is lacking. METHODS: We offer a commentary with our perspective on possible mechanisms involved in this clinical phenomena and offer practical management guidance, supported by available evidence. RESULTS: It is not well recognized that allostatic opponent process involved in development of opioid dependence can cause worsening pain, functional status, sleep and psychiatric symptoms over time, and significant fluctuation of pain and other affective symptoms due to their bidirectional dynamic interaction with opioid dependence ('affective dynamism'). These elements of complex persistent dependence (CPD), the grey area between simple dependence and addiction, can lead to escalating and labile opioid need, often generating aberrant behaviors. Opioid tapering, a seemingly logical intervention in this situation, may lead to worsening of pain, function and psychiatric symptoms due to development of protracted abstinence syndrome. We offer practicing clinicians management principles and practical guidance focused on management of CPD in addition to chronic pain in these difficult clinical scenarios. CONCLUSION: Awareness of the science of the neuroplasticity effects of repeated use of opioids is necessary to better manage these patients with complex challenges.

Three-year retention in buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder nationally in the Veterans Health Administration.

BACKGROUND: Buprenorphine has become the major treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) but data on long treatment term retention and its correlates are sparse. METHODS: All veterans with OUD treated in Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities nationally in fiscal year (FY) 2012, and who began treatment with buprenorphine as indicated by a first prescription after the first 60 days of the year were identified with the date of and their last prescription from FY 2012-2015. Veterans were classified into four groups based on time from first to last prescription: (0-30 days, 31-365 days; 1-3 years; and more than 3 years). These groups were compared on socio-demographic, diagnoses and service, and psychotropic drug use. Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards models were used to identify variables independently associated with retention in buprenorphine treatment. RESULTS: Veterans newly started on buprenorphine (n = 3,151) were retained in treatment for a mean duration of 1.68 years (standard deviation [SD] 1.23), with 61.60% (n = 1,941) retained for more than a year and 31.83% (n = 1,003) for more than 3 years. Cox proportion hazards model showed that only black race (Hazards ratio [HR] 1.26; standard error [SE] .06; p.0003), the Charlson index (HR 1.03; SE .01; p.0132) and emergency room visits during FY 2012 (HR 1.03; SE .01; p < .0001) were the only available variables independently associated higher odds of buprenorphine discontinuation. CONCLUSIONS: Buprenorphine retention was substantial among veterans treated in VHA, but few individual characteristics correlated with retention. SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: Future research focused on identifying further correlates of treatment retention is required to help devise interventions to improve treatment continuation. (Am J Addict 2017;26:572-580).

The Impact of Non-Pain Factors on Pain Interference Among U.S. Service Members and Veterans with Symptoms of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

U.S. Service members and Veterans (SM/V) experience elevated rates of traumatic brain injury (TBI), chronic pain, and other non-pain symptoms. However, the role of non-pain factors on pain interference levels remains unclear among SM/Vs, particularly those with a history of TBI. The primary objective of this study was to identify factors that differentiate high/low pain interference, given equivalent pain intensity among U.S. SM/V participating in the ongoing Long-term Impact of Military-relevant Brain Injury Consortium-Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium (LIMBIC-CENC) national multi-center prospective longitudinal observational study. An explainable machine learning was used to identify key predictors of pain interference conditioned on equivalent pain intensity. The final sample consisted of n = 1,577 SM/Vs who were predominantly male (87%), and 83.6% had a history of mild TBI(s) (mTBI), while 16.4% were TBI negative controls. The sample was categorized according to pain interference level (Low: 19.9%, Moderate: 52.5%, and High: 27.6%). Both pain intensity scores and pain interference scores increased with the number of mTBIs (p < 0.001), and there was evidence of a dose response between the number of injuries and pain scores. Machine learning models identified fatigue and anxiety as the most important predictors of pain interference, whereas emotional control was protective. Partial dependence plots identified that marginal effects of fatigue and anxiety were associated with pain interference (p < 0.001), but the marginal effect of mTBI was not significant in models considering all variables (p > 0.05). Non-pain factors are associated with functional limitations and disability experience among SM/V with an mTBI history. The functional effects of pain may be mediated through multiple other factors. Pain is a multi-dimensional experience that may benefit most from holistic treatment approaches that target comorbidities and build supports that promote recovery.

Early accelerated senescence of circulating endothelial progenitor cells in premature coronary artery disease patients in a developing country - a case control study.

BACKGROUND: The decreased number and senescence of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are considered markers of vascular senescence associated with aging, atherosclerosis, and coronary artery disease (CAD) in elderly. In this study, we explore the role of vascular senescence in premature CAD (PCAD) in a developing country by comparing the numerical status and senescence of circulating EPCs in PCAD patients to controls. METHODS: EPCs were measured by flow cytometry in 57 patients with angiographically documented CAD, and 57 controls without evidence of CAD, recruited from random patients ≤ 50 years of age at All India Institute of Medical Sciences. EPC senescence as determined by telomere length (EPC-TL) and telomerase activity (EPC-TA) was studied by real time polymerase chain reaction (q PCR) and PCR- ELISA respectively. RESULT: The number of EPCs (0.18% Vs. 0.039% of total WBCs, p < 0.0001), and EPC-TL (3.83 Vs. 5.10 kb/genome, p = 0.009) were markedly lower in PCAD patients compared to controls. These differences persisted after adjustment for age, sex, BMI, smoking and medications. EPC-TA was reduced in PCAD patients, but was statistically significant only after adjustment for confounding factors (1.81 Vs. 2.20 IU/cell, unadjusted p = 0.057, adjusted p = 0.044). CONCLUSIONS: We observed an association between increased vascular cell senescence with PCAD in a sample of young patients from India. This suggests that early accelerated vascular cell senescence may play an important mechanistic role in CAD epidemic in developing countries like India where PCAD burden is markedly higher compared to developed countries.

Pain Management in Older Adults Before and During the First Year of COVID-19 Pandemic: Prevalence, Trends, and Correlates.

BACKGROUND: There is limited knowledge on whether and how health care access restrictions imposed by the coronavirus disease of 2019 pandemic have affected utilization of both opioid and nonpharmacological treatments among US older adults living with chronic pain. METHODS: We compared prevalence of chronic pain and high impact chronic pain (ie, chronic pain limiting life or work activities on most days or every day in the past 6 months) between 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 2020 (first year of pandemic) and utilization of opioids and nonpharmacological pain treatments among adults aged ≥65 years enrolled in the National Health Interview Survey, a nationally representative sample of noninstitutionalized civilian U.S. adults. RESULTS: Of 12 027 survey participants aged ≥65 (representing 32.6 million noninstitutionalized older adults nationally), the prevalence of chronic pain was not significantly different from 2019 (30.8%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 29.7%-32.0%) to 2020 (32.1%; 95% CI, 31.0%-33.3%; p = .06). Among older adults with chronic pain, the prevalence of high impact chronic pain was also unchanged (38.3%; 95% CI, 36.1%-40.6% in 2019 versus 37.8%; 95% CI, 34.9%-40.8% in 2020; p = .79). Use of any nonpharmacological interventions for pain management decreased significantly from 61.2% (95 CI, 58.8%-63.5%) in 2019 to 42.1% (95% CI, 40.5%-43.8%) in 2020 (p < .001) among those with chronic pain, as did opioid use in the past 12 months from 20.2% (95% CI, 18.9%-21.6%) in 2019 to 17.9% (95% CI, 16.7%-19.1%) in 2020 (p = .006). Predictors of treatment utilization were similar in both chronic pain and high-impact chronic pain. CONCLUSION: Use of pain treatments among older adults with chronic pain declined in the first year of coronavirus disease of 2019 pandemic. Future research is needed to assess long-term effects of coronavirus disease of 2019 pandemic on pain management in older adults.

Buprenorphine use and courses of care for opioid use disorder treatment within the Veterans Health Administration.

BACKGROUND: Retention of patients in buprenorphine medication treatment for opioid use disorder (B-MOUD) reduces harms associated with opioid use disorder (OUD). We sought to characterize the patients receiving B-MOUD and courses of B-MOUD in a large healthcare system. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective, open cohort study of patients with OUD who either did or did not receive B-MOUD courses within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) from January 2006 through July 2019, using VHA clinical data. We compared patients receiving or not receiving B-MOUD, characterized B-MOUD courses (e.g., length and doses), and examined persistence, across patient characteristics, over time. We used analyses for normally or non-normally distributed continuous variables, categorical data, and persistence over time (Kaplan-Meier persistence curves). RESULTS: We identified 255,726 Veterans with OUD; 40,431 (15.8%) had received 63,929 B-MOUD courses. Compared to patients with OUD without B-MOUD, patients with B-MOUD were younger, more often of white race, and had more co-morbidities. The frequency of new B-MOUD starts and prevalent B-MOUD patients ranged from 1550 and 1989 in 2007 to 8146 and 16,505 in 2018, respectively. The median duration of B-MOUD was 157 (IQR: 37-537) days for all courses and 33.8% patients had more than one course. The average proportion days covered was 90% (SD: 0.15), and the average prescribed daily dose was 13.44 (SD: 6.5). CONCLUSIONS: Within a VHA B-MOUD cohort, courses increased more than 10-fold from 2006 to 2016 with nearly half of patients experiencing multiple courses. Patient demographics seem to dictate the length of courses.

Persistence of significant pain interference following substance use disorder remission: Negative association with psychosocial and physical recovery.

BACKGROUND: Although substance use disorder (SUD) is frequently complicated by pain, the prevalence and correlates of persistent pain and dysfunction following SUD remission have not been studied. METHODS: Using a cross-sectional sample of United States (US) adults with SUD identified in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions Wave III, we evaluated the prevalence of moderate/severe pain interference (PI) in subgroups with current and remitted SUD and the independent association of SUD remission and PI with self-reported psychosocial and physical function (Mental Health Composite Score [MCS] and Physical Function Score [PFS] from the Short Form 12). RESULTS: A fifth (20.6%; 7.6 million) of estimated 36.7 million US adults with past year SUD and a slightly higher proportion (25.6%; 9.6 million) of 37.4 million with SUD remission reported PI. MCS and PFS showed independent negative associations with PI among adults with both past year SUD and SUD remission. MCS had a positive independent association with SUD remission, but a stronger negative association with PI. While PFS had no statistically significant association with SUD remission, it had a strong negative association with PI. Analysis of interaction between SUD remission and PI revealed that SUD remission had no effect on the association of PI and MCS but had significant moderating influence on the association between PI and PFS. CONCLUSIONS: Moderate to severe pain interference continues to be a significant problem among a sizable population achieving SUD remission potentially impeding recovery, and deserves focused clinical attention both active SUD and its remission.

The association of opioid use disorder and homelessness nationally in the veterans health administration.

BACKGROUND: Substance use disorder (SUD) is a major risk factor for homelessness, but the specific association of opioid use disorder (OUD) and homelessness in the context of their shared risk factors has not been the focus of prior studies. We used national data from the United States Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to examine the association of OUD and homelessness in the context of shared risk factors. METHODS: In this cross-sectional analysis of veterans who received VHA care during Fiscal Year 2012 (N = 5,450,078), we compared the prevalence of OUD and other sociodemographic, and clinical factors among homeless and non-homeless veterans. We estimated the odds ratio for homelessness associated with OUD alone, and after adjusting for other factors through multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Homeless veterans had substantially higher prevalence of OUD than other VHA patients (7.7 % Vs 0.6 %) and OUD was associated with 13 times higher unadjusted odds of homelessness (Odds Ratio [OR] 13.36, 95 % CI 13.09-13.62), which decreased with adjustment for sociodemographic factors (black race, mean income and age), other SUD, medical, and psychiatric diagnoses (final OR 1.57, 95 % CI 1.53-1.61). Other SUDs (alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, and hallucinogens) showed similar or slightly higher odds of homelessness as OUD in the final model. CONCLUSIONS: OUD was strongly associated with homelessness among US veterans although this association was largely but not entirely attenuated by shared sociodemographic and co-morbid risk factors including several other SUDs. Treatment of homeless veterans with OUD should address socio-economic vulnerabilities and other co-morbidities in addition to treatments for OUD.

Association of symptom severity, pain and other behavioral and medical comorbidities with diverse measures of functioning among adults with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an often disabling mental disorder whose management typically focuses on reducing PTSD symptoms. Chronic pain and other comorbidities that commonly accompany PTSD symptoms may also be independently associated with disability. Using data from the 2012-2013 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, we examined the independent association of PTSD symptom severity, pain interference, non-PTSD psychiatric and substance use disorders (SUD), and medical illnesses with each of four domains of function: mental health-related quality of life and physical functioning assessed with the Mental Health Composite Score (MCS) and Physical Function Score (PFS) of the Short Form-12; perceived social support from the Interpersonal Support and Evaluation List-12 (ISEL-12); and self-reported past year employment. Among 1779 individuals representing 11 million U.S. adults who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-5 (DSM-5) criteria for Past Year PTSD, the MCS (41.2; SD 12.5), PFS (44.8; SD 13.2) and ISEL-12 (33.6; SD 7.2) indicated substantial disability when compared to population norms, and only 63.6% were employed. Multiple regression showed the MCS had a modest negative association with PTSD symptoms, pain interference, psychiatric multimorbidity and medical comorbidity although not with SUD. PFS and employment had significant negative associations with pain interference and medical comorbidity. ISEL-12 had a weak negative association with PTSD symptoms and non-PTSD psychiatric comorbidity. Common comorbidities thus significantly influence disability associated with PTSD, often more strongly than PTSD symptoms. PTSD treatment may require integrative multimorbidity management beyond a focus on PTSD symptoms.