{"id":3299,"date":"2025-02-22T06:05:51","date_gmt":"2025-02-22T06:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/?p=3299"},"modified":"2025-03-17T07:30:52","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T07:30:52","slug":"stimulant-use-to-rising-opioid-dosages-highlighting-risks-of-the-twin-epidemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/?p=3299","title":{"rendered":"Stimulant Use to Rising Opioid Dosages, Highlighting Risks of the Twin Epidemic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A <strong>10-year longitudinal study<\/strong> analyzing nearly <strong>3 million U.S. patients<\/strong> has revealed a troubling connection between <strong>prescription stimulant use<\/strong> and <strong>escalating opioid dosages<\/strong>, a pattern that could be fueling the ongoing <strong>opioid crisis<\/strong>. The study, published in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelancet.com\/journals\/lanam\/article\/PIIS2667-193X(25)00040-7\/fulltext\"><em>The Lancet Regional Health \u2013 Americas<\/em><\/a>, suggests that <strong>co-prescription of stimulants and opioids significantly raises the risk of high-dose opioid use<\/strong>, increasing concerns about overdose deaths and long-term health effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Understanding the &#8220;Twin Epidemic&#8221;<\/strong><br>The study, led by <strong>Ping Zhang<\/strong>, an associate professor at <strong>The Ohio State University<\/strong>, explored how the simultaneous prescription of <strong>central nervous system (CNS) stimulants<\/strong> (such as ADHD medications) and <strong>opioids<\/strong> (including oxycodone and morphine) affects opioid intake patterns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;Combining these two drugs is associated with a rise in overdose deaths. While we knew this was happening, we didn\u2019t understand whether stimulants played a role in escalating opioid use. Our analysis provides strong evidence that they do,&#8221;<\/em> said Zhang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The researchers analyzed <strong>health insurance claims data from 22 million patients<\/strong>, identifying a <strong>2.9 million-patient cohort<\/strong> that had been prescribed opioids between <strong>2012 and 2021<\/strong>. Of these, <strong>160,243 patients (5.5%)<\/strong> were also prescribed stimulants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key Findings: Stimulant Use Increases Opioid Dosages<\/strong><br>Patients taking both stimulants and opioids were more likely to use high opioid doses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Patients prescribed stimulants before starting opioids were at higher risk of escalating opioid use over time.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The highest opioid doses were seen in patients diagnosed with ADHD, depression, and chronic pain\u2014conditions commonly associated with stimulant use.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>To assess opioid intake trends, the researchers categorized patients into <strong>five dosage trajectory groups<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Very low-dose users<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Low-dose decreasing users<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Low-dose increasing users<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Moderate-dose increasing users<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>High-dose sustained users<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Patients in <strong>moderate- and high-dose opioid groups<\/strong> not only had <strong>higher opioid intake<\/strong> but also <strong>higher rates of ADHD and depression<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Geographic and Gender Trends in Opioid Use<\/strong><br>The study also found <strong>regional and gender disparities<\/strong> in opioid prescription patterns:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Southern and Western U.S. regions had the highest total opioid intakes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The South had the highest prescription rates, while the West had the highest opioid dosage per prescription.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Men had higher daily opioid intakes than women, suggesting possible differences in prescribing practices or pain management approaches.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Implications: Is Stricter Regulation of Stimulants Needed?<\/strong><br>The results suggest that <strong>prescription stimulants may be a significant driver behind rising opioid use<\/strong>, raising concerns about how these drugs are prescribed together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;This cohort represents a very real healthcare issue,&#8221;<\/em> Zhang noted. <em>&#8220;Many patients with ADHD and depression are also prescribed opioids for chronic pain, creating a complex and potentially dangerous pattern of drug use.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Given the increased risk of <strong>overdose, cardiovascular events, and mental health complications<\/strong>, researchers suggest that <strong>tighter regulations on stimulant prescriptions for patients already taking opioids may be necessary<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With <strong>opioid overdose deaths continuing to rise<\/strong>, these findings highlight <strong>the need for closer monitoring of patients receiving both stimulants and opioids<\/strong>, as well as further research into <strong>safer pain management and mental health treatment alternatives<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A 10-year longitudinal study analyzing nearly 3 million U.S. patients has revealed a troubling connection between prescription stimulant use and escalating opioid dosages, a pattern that could be fueling the ongoing opioid crisis. The study, published in The Lancet Regional Health \u2013 Americas, suggests that co-prescription of stimulants and opioids significantly raises the risk of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1123],"tags":[1095,1130,1126,1128,1129,1124,1127,1125],"class_list":["post-3299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-public-health","tag-attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder","tag-big-data","tag-chronic-pain","tag-data-analysis","tag-drug-combinations","tag-opioids","tag-statistical-analysis","tag-stimulants"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3299"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3299\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3300,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3299\/revisions\/3300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}