Nonprescription use of pain relievers by middle-aged and elderly community-living adults: national survey on drug use and health
Open accessAbstract
OBJECTIVES: To estimate the frequency, distribution, and correlates of nonprescription use of pain relievers by middle‐aged and elderly persons in the United States. DESIGN: Cross‐sectional data analysis of a national community survey. SETTING: The 2005 and 2006 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health. PARTICIPANTS: Ten thousand nine hundred fifty‐three respondents aged 50 and older (6,717 aged 50–64 and 4,236 aged ≥65). MEASUREMENTS: Social and demographic variables, detailed assessment of nonprescription use (and abuse) of prescription pain relievers (e.g., acetaminophen with codeine, morphine), substance use, major depression, self‐reported medical illnesses, and self‐rated health. RESULTS: A small proportion of the sample (1.4%) reported nonprescription use of prescription pain relievers during the previous year. Combinations of acetaminophen and hydrocodone or propoxyphene were the most commonly used drugs. Use was associated with younger age (odds ratio (OR)=2.39, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.31–4.36), American Indian and Alaska native (OR=8.78, 95% CI=2.50–30.85), and use of marijuana (OR=7.07, 95% CI=3.99–12.53). Fewer than 10% of nonprescription users were abusing these medications or dependent upon them. CONCLUSION: In a representative sample of middle‐aged and older adults, nonprescription use of prescription pain relievers is relatively uncommon, but the much higher use by middle‐aged adults suggests that, as this cohort ages, the problem may increase in elderly people.
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APAP overdose is a common cause of acute liver failure in the US.
“APAP overdose is a common cause of acute liver failure in the US [71,72].”
From A liver-on-a-chip platform with bioprinted hepatic spheroids (2016) · cites this paper as [71]
The Abstract Results report that acetaminophen-containing pain relievers were commonly used without a prescription in the surveyed group, but do not discuss overdose or liver failure. Searches of the full-text copy for acetaminophen overdose and liver failure found no passage addressing whether overdose is a common cause of acute liver failure in the US. (LLM, conf=0.76)
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- Authors
- Blazer, D. G., & Wu, L.
- Affiliations
- Duke University (US)
- Venue
- Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2009-06-30
- Volume
- 57
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 1252-1257
- ISSN
- 0002-8614 (ISSN-L)
- 1532-5415
- PMC
- PMC2752277
- OpenAlex
- W1539210069
- Cited by
- 88
- References
- 19
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 5.04
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
- U.S. Public Health Service (HSN271200522071C)
- National Institute of Mental Health
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA019623, R01DA019623, DA019901, R01DA019901)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine › Pain Management and Opioid Use
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Geriatrics and Gerontology › Pharmaceutical Practices and Patient Outcomes
- Keywords
- prescription pain relievers, propoxyphene, drug abuse, medication dependence, middle-aged adults, older adults, cannabis use, American Indian and Alaska Native populations, major depressive disorder, self-rated health, National Survey on Drug Use and Health
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Analgesics, Cross-Sectional Studies, Nonprescription Drugs, Female, Humans, Interviews as Topic, Male, Middle Aged, Pain, Surveys and Questionnaires, Risk Factors, United States, Prevalence, Logistic Models, Substance-Related Disorders
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