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Reported lifetime aberrant drug-taking behaviors are predictive of current substance use and mental health problems in primary care patients.

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Date
2008-11
Authors
Fleming, Michael F
Davis, James
Passik, Steven D
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: The aim of this report is to determine the frequency of aberrant drug behaviors and their relationship to substance abuse disorders in a large primary sample of patients receiving opioids for chronic pain. METHODS: The data utilized for this report was obtained from 904 chronic pain patients receiving opioid therapy from their primary care physician. A questionnaire was developed based on 12 aberrant drug behaviors reported in the clinical literature. The diagnosis of a current substance use disorder was determined using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition(DSM-IV) criteria. RESULTS: The average duration of chronic pain in the sample was 16 years and for opioid therapy, 6.4 years. Of the patients, 80.5% reported one or more lifetime aberrant drug behaviors. The most frequent behaviors reported included early refills (41.7%), increase dose without physician consent (35.7%), and felt intoxicated from opioids (32.2%). Only 1.1% of subjects with 1-3 aberrant behaviors (N = 464, 51.2%) met DSM-IV criteria for current opioid dependence compared with 9.9% of patients with four or more behaviors (N = 264, 29.3%). Persons with positive urine toxicology tests for cocaine were 14 times more likely to report four or more behaviors than no behaviors (14.1% vs 1.1%). A logistic model found that subjects who reported four or more aberrant behaviors were more likely to have a current substance use disorder (odds ratio [OR] 10.14; 3.72, 27.64), a positive test for cocaine (odds ratio [OR] 3.01; 1.74, 15.4), an Addiction Severity Index (ASI) psychiatric composite score >0.5 (OR 2.38; 1.65, 3.44), male gender (OR 2.08: 1.48, 2.92), and older age (OR 0.69; 0.59, 0.81) compared with subjects with three or fewer behaviors. Pain levels, employment status, and morphine equivalent dose do not enter the model. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who report four or more aberrant drug behaviors are associated with a current substance use disorder and illicit drug use, whereas subjects with up to three aberrant behaviors have a very low probability of a current substance abuse disorder. Four behaviors--oversedated oneself, felt intoxicated, early refills, increase dose on own--appear useful as screening questions to predict patients at greatest risk for a current substance use disorders.
Type
Journal article
Subject
Adolescent
Adult
Analgesics, Opioid
Behavior, Addictive
Drug Evaluation, Preclinical
Drug Users
Female
Humans
Male
Mental Disorders
Middle Aged
Opioid-Related Disorders
Pain
Primary Health Care
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/11691
Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1111/j.1526-4637.2008.00491.x
Publication Info
Fleming, Michael F; Davis, James; & Passik, Steven D (2008). Reported lifetime aberrant drug-taking behaviors are predictive of current substance use and mental health problems in primary care patients. Pain Med, 9(8). pp. 1098-1106. 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2008.00491.x. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/11691.
This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Scholars@Duke

Davis

James Davis

Associate Professor of Medicine
Dr. James Davis is a practicing physician of Internal Medicine, and serves as the Medical Director for Duke Center for Smoking Cessation, Director of the Duke Smoking Cessation Program and Co-Director of the Duke-UNC Tobacco Treatment Specialist Credentialing Program.  His research focuses on development of new pharmaceutical treatments for smoking cessation.  He is principal investigator on several trials including a study on “adaptive” smoking cessation and several trials
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