Medication to Treat Patients with Opioid Use Disorder and Suicide Risk

Opioid use disorder (OUD) is an independent risk factor for suicide, a leading cause of mortality in the U.S. Medications for OUD (such as methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone) can lessen illicit drug use — and presumably suicide risk. In this retrospective cohort study of more than 60,000 U.S. Veterans Affairs patients with OUD, researchers examined the effect of medications on risk for suicide during a 14-year period (2003–2017).

After adjustment for numerous relevant variables, treatment with OUD medications was associated with ≈50% less risk for suicide mortality. Buprenorphine was associated with a relative risk reduction for suicide mortality of more than 65%. In stark contrast, naltrexone treatment conferred no relative risk reduc…