Receipt of medications for opioid use disorder among youth engaged in primary care: data from 6 health systems
Open Access
- 7 July 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Addiction Science & Clinical Practice
- Vol. 16 (1), 1-8
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s13722-021-00249-3
Abstract
Little is known about prevalence and treatment of OUD among youth engaged in primary care (PC). Medications are the recommended treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) for adolescents and young adults (youth). This study describes the prevalence of OUD, the prevalence of medication treatment for OUD, and patient characteristics associated with OUD treatment among youth engaged in PC. This cross-sectional study includes youth aged 16–25 years engaged in PC. Eligible patients had ≥ 1 PC visit during fiscal years (FY) 2014–2016 in one of 6 health systems across 6 states. Data from electronic health records and insurance claims were used to identify OUD diagnoses, office-based OUD medication treatment, and patient demographic and clinical characteristics in the FY of the first PC visit during the study period. Descriptive analyses were conducted in all youth, and stratified by age (16–17, 18–21, 22–25 years). Among 303,262 eligible youth, 2131 (0.7%) had a documented OUD diagnosis. The prevalence of OUD increased by ascending age groups. About half of youth with OUD had documented depression or anxiety and one third had co-occurring substance use disorders. Receipt of medication for OUD was lowest among youth 16–17 years old (14%) and highest among those aged 22–25 (39%). In this study of youth engaged in 6 health systems across 6 states, there was low receipt of medication treatment, and high prevalence of other substance use disorders and mental health disorders. These findings indicate an urgent need to increase medication treatment for OUD and to integrate treatment for other substance use and mental health disorders.Keywords
Funding Information
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (UG1DA040314, K23DA044324, 5 UG1 DA013714-18, UG1DA013720, UG1DA040316, 5 UG1 DA049436-03, U10 DA013714)
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (K01AA023859)
This publication has 27 references indexed in Scilit:
- Trends in Receipt of Buprenorphine and Naltrexone for Opioid Use Disorder Among Adolescents and Young Adults, 2001-2014JAMA Pediatrics, 2017
- Injectable naltrexone, oral naltrexone, and buprenorphine utilization and discontinuation among individuals treated for opioid use disorder in a United States commercially insured populationJournal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 2017
- Association Between Substance Use Diagnoses and Psychiatric Disorders in an Adolescent and Young Adult Clinic-Based PopulationJournal of Adolescent Health, 2017
- Medication-Assisted Treatment of Adolescents With Opioid Use DisordersPEDIATRICS, 2016
- Clinical Management of Opioid Use DisorderJAMA, 2016
- A randomized controlled trial of buprenorphine taper duration among opioid‐dependent adolescents and young adultsAddiction, 2016
- Medication-Assisted Therapies — Tackling the Opioid-Overdose EpidemicThe New England Journal of Medicine, 2014
- Statement of the American Society of Addiction Medicine Consensus Panel on the Use of Buprenorphine in Office-Based Treatment of Opioid AddictionJournal of Addiction Medicine, 2011
- Collaborative Care of Opioid-Addicted Patients in Primary Care Using BuprenorphineJAMA Internal Medicine, 2011
- Extended vs Short-term Buprenorphine-Naloxone for Treatment of Opioid-Addicted YouthJAMA, 2008