Five Interesting Facts on Opioids You May Not Know

Reports on opioids in the US continue to elucidate interesting facts on opioid use and abuse. With opioid use at an all time high in the US, more research is being performed to show some of the issues surrounding use. In fact, pain in American now represents an annually $550 billion industry, with approximately 1/3 of citizens currently dealing with a pain problem. The more we know, the better. Here are 5 interesting facts.

1. Research shows narcotic use is higher among the less educated and unemployed. A recent report in the American Journal of Medicine specifically looked at fibromyalgia patients receiving opioids for their pain. There was an increased incidence of unemployment, disability payments, and history of substance abuse. Also, the statistics showed overall lower education and an increased incidence of unstable psychiatric disorders. The study was not small and contained over 450 patients, so the results were most likely valid despite potential statistical variances.

2. Sleep is affected significantly by opioids. A large review of studies was published in Postgraduate Medicine looking at the effect of narcotics on sleeping patterns. What popped out? Well, opioid users displayed significant incidence of insomnia, arousals, and wakefulness. There was also a temporary absence of REM sleep, which is the type of sleep people go into as they go deeper into sleep. So narcotics appear to affect both the quality and quantity of sleep, which is obviously suboptimal for patients who have painful conditions and need sleep for regeneration and healing potential.

3. Patients in chronic pain are likely to take opioids for multiple years. A study done at the Universities of Washington and Arkansas showed when patients are prescribed opioids for chronic pain, they are likely to still be taking them 5 years later. Interestingly, there were 2 factors that lead to the continued usage. One was if the patient had been prescribed the drugs before, and the other was if the patients were prescribed doses in excess of 120 milligrams of morphine. Of note, that is a hefty dose.

4. Older adults can suffer from pneumonia from Opioids. In patients between the ages of 65 and 94, recent research has shown a link between narcotics and pneumonia. The project looked at those patients contracting pneumonia and whether those folks had taken narcotics or benzodiazepines prior to contracting the illness. The results were impressive, with 14% of the patients with pneumonia having taken opioids prior, compared with only 8% in the control group (who did not have pneumonia). Individuals were 3 times more likely to contract pneumonia within the first 2 weeks of taking narcotics.

5. Wounded soldiers often become addicted to painkillers. In a House Appropriations Committee report, it was shown that between 25 to 35% of wounded soldiers become addicted to narcotics while waiting to receive a medical discharge. Most of the time the prescribed medication is Oxycodone. The military is delving into alternatives to narcotics, but unfortunately great ones are simply not available as of yet. Multi-modal pain management treatment with several disciplines involve may be able to eventually decrease this hefty percentage.