Prescription opioid and benzodiazepine misuse is associated with suicidal ideation in older adults
Date
2019Journal
International Journal of Geriatric PsychiatryPublisher
John Wiley and Sons LtdType
Article
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Objectives: Suicide in older adults is a major public health issue. Past research across the US adult population has linked prescription medication misuse with suicidal ideation. No work has evaluated associations between prescription opioid or benzodiazepine misuse and suicidal ideation in older adults, and this work aimed to address that gap. Methods/design: Data were from adults 50 years and older participating in the 2015 to 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (n = 17,608). Design-based logistic regression evaluated links between any past-year prescription opioid or benzodiazepine use without misuse or prescription misuse and past-year suicidal ideation, after controlling for sociodemographic, physical health, mental health, and substance use correlates associated with suicidal ideation. Results: After controlling for all correlates, past-year use without misuse of prescription opioids or benzodiazepines was not associated with past-year suicidal ideation in older adults. In contrast, past-year opioid misuse (AOR = 1.84, 95% CI = 1.07-3.19) and benzodiazepine misuse (AOR = 2.00, 95% CI = 1.01-3.94) were significantly associated with past-year suicidal ideation, even after controlling for all covariates. While 2.2% of US older adults not engaged in either opioid or benzodiazepine misuse reported past-year suicidal ideation, 25.4% of those who misused both medication classes endorsed such suicidality (AOR = 4.73, 95% CI = 2.07-10.79). Conclusions: Both past-year prescription opioid and benzodiazepine misuse are associated with past-year suicidal ideation in US older adults. Clinicians encountering older adult patients at-risk for or engaged in prescription medication misuse also should screen for suicidality. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Sponsors
The NSDUH is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental HealthIdentifier to cite or link to this item
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85055149650&doi=10.1002%2fgps.4999&partnerID=40&md5=db94834e0637c8b89a62812e07894204; http://hdl.handle.net/10713/8556ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1002/gps.4999
Scopus Count
Collections
Related articles
- Association between prescription opioid misuse and dimensions of suicidality among college students.
- Authors: Davis RE, Doyle NA, Nahar VK
- Issue date: 2020 May
- Prescription drug misuse and suicidal ideation: Findings from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
- Authors: Ford JA, Perna D
- Issue date: 2015 Dec 1
- Frequency of prescription opioid misuse and suicidal ideation, planning, and attempts.
- Authors: Ashrafioun L, Bishop TM, Conner KR, Pigeon WR
- Issue date: 2017 Sep
- Social isolation proxy variables and prescription opioid and benzodiazepine misuse among older adults in the U.S.: A cross-sectional analysis of data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2015-2017.
- Authors: Day BF, Rosenthal GL
- Issue date: 2019 Nov 1
- Prescription tranquilizer/sedative misuse prevalence and correlates across age cohorts in the US.
- Authors: Schepis TS, Teter CJ, Simoni-Wastila L, McCabe SE
- Issue date: 2018 Dec