BACKGROUND Opioid misuse can complicate chronic pain management, and the non-medical use of opioids is a growing public health problem. The incidence and risk factors for opioid misuse in patients with chronic pain, however, have not been well characterized. We conducted a prospective cohort study to determine the one-year incidence and predictors of opioid misuse among patients enrolled in a c...

Prescription drug misuse (PDM) has become a major health issue in the U.S. over past decade. PDM affects all ethnic and racial groups; however, there is higher prevalence among American Indian (AI) youths, scarce information on risk protective factors driving this behavior. Using Arizona Youth Survey 2018, we analyzed data from 2494 students who self-identified as AI (aged 13–18 years, 47.31% m...

BACKGROUND Historically substance misuse has been relatively common in western countries, but comparatively few Finns report drug use. The Drugs 2020 study aimed at foreseeing changes in the drug situation in Finland by the year 2020. METHODS The Delphi method was used, utilizing drug experts of the EU national network in Finland. RESULTS Marked growth was foreseen in drug use, especially i...

BACKGROUND The U.S. prevalence of misuse of prescription opioid analgesics has increased substantially over the past decade but research on the factors influencing misuse of these medications remains preliminary. In the literature on alcohol, marijuana and stimulants, substance-related expectancies have been found to predict level of substance use. A similar line of research is needed to better...

OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to estimate the societal costs of prescription opioid abuse, dependence, and misuse in the United States. METHODS Costs were grouped into three categories: health care, workplace, and criminal justice. Costs were estimated by 1) quantity method, which multiplies the number of opioid abuse patients by cost per opioid abuse patient; and 2) apportionmen...