Prescribed Opioids Associated with Risk of Overdose for Non-Prescription Family Members

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, overdoses of opioids would be responsible for more than 42,000 deaths in 2016. According to a new study by researchers, access to medicines for family members could constitute a significant risk factor for overdose in individuals without a prescription. from Brigham and Women's Hospital. Their findings have been published recently in JAMA Internal Medicine.

"Once the prescriptions are met and the number of extra pills in the medicine cabinet, family members with access to these medications could overdose or become addicted," said Joshua Gagne, PharmD, ScD, Pharmacist. Epidemiologist in the Brigham Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics. "But few studies have systematically examined and quantified this risk."

Brigham's investigators drew on health care utilization data provided by a major commercial insurance company in the United States for the period 2004-2015. A total of 2,303 people with an opioid overdose were matched with 9,212 controls and not all participants had prior opioid prescriptions. Investigators found that distributing opioids to family members benefiting from the same health insurance plan was badociated with a 2.8-fold probability of the probability that an individual would not take an overdose of prescription. The badociation was present regardless of age. children and adults were more likely to overdose if a family member had an opioid prescription.

The researchers looked exclusively at family members benefiting from the same health insurance plan. They acknowledged that they could not confirm whether the overdose was related to the family member's prescription or whether the opioids had been obtained illegally. In addition, they were unable to determine whether the family members lived in the same household, which would have affected the accessibility of the drugs.

Investigators hope their findings can inform preventive strategies to combat opioid misuse. Interventions may focus on expanding access to opioid antagonists, safely storing prescription opioids at home and better informing patients to limit overdoses in family members. In addition, they mentioned that opioid prescriptions should be limited to the number of pills a patient needs, thus reducing the number of excess drugs available.

"Effective communication by doctors, pharmacists, nurses or public interest messages could raise public awareness of opioids as a risk factor for overdose for family members." Education is essential to reduce accidental exposure and misuse, "said Gagné.