Opioid Overdose Is Associated with Family-Member Opioid Use

Studies suggest that many patients who misuse opioids obtain them from family or household members. To investigate the association between opioid overdose and opioids prescribed for other people in the family unit, researchers used a U.S. commercial health-plan database to identify 2200 patients with opioid overdoses who required emergency department visits or hospitalization; each case was matched with four controls, based on multiple variables including family size. No cases or controls had received an opioid prescription during a 1-year baseline period or during an interval (averaging ≈2 years) between the baseline year and the matched overdose date. Opioid prescribing to family members was assessed from the end of the baseline year to the overdose event.

The rate of opioid overdose for patients not exposed to family members' opioids was 4 per 100,000 person-years; the rate was roughly threefold higher for patients exposed to family members' opioids. A “dose-response” relation was noted: The odds ratio for opioid overdose increased as total daily morphine milligram equivalents prescribed for family members increased. The analyses were adjusted for a wide range of variables.