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FRIDAY, Oct. 26, 2018 – In another distressing snapshot of the opioid epidemic gripping America, a new study reports that nearly 5 percent of older children and adults in Massachusetts have an opioid use disorder.
The study found that 4.6 percent of people over the age of 11, or more than 275,000 in the state, abuse opioids. That's almost four times higher than previous estimates based on national data, the study authors said.
"There are many people with opioids who do not encounter the healthcare system," said Dr. Joshua Barocas, a leading study leader. He is an infectious disease physician at Boston Medical Center.
Opioids include prescription painkillers such as OxyContin, Vicodin and Codeine, as well as synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
The analysis of data from Massachusetts shows a steady climb in rates of over 11 – 2.7 percent in 2011, close to 2.9 percent in 2012, nearly 3.9 percent in 2013 and 4.6 percent in 2015.
The greatest increases in opioid conditions are reported in the literature.
The number of people has grown from just under 64,000 in 2011 to over 75,000 in 2012, and from nearly 94,000 in 2013 to just over 119,000 in 2015.
Rural counties had some of the highest rates, including: Berkshire (6 percent); Bristol (5.8 percent); Hampden (5.3 percent); Barnstable (5 percent); and Worcester (4.4 percent). The rate in Suffolk County, where all of Boston, was 3.3 percent in 2015, the study found.
The rising rates of opioid use are also contributing to the increase in overdose in the state, the study authors added.
For the study, the investigators analyzed several public health data sets, resulting in a more accurate assessment of the impact of opioids in Massachusetts. This shows that better monitoring systems are more likely to be misused, the researchers said.
Improved surveillance can help increase diagnoses and treatment of these disorders, Barocas and his colleagues concluded.
The study was published online Thursday in the American Journal of Public Health.
The study was funded, in part, by the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Boston University School of Medicine.
More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on the opioid epidemic.
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