Prescription painkiller misuse and the perceived risk of harm from using heroin.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Prescription opioid pain reliever misuse is associated with initiation of heroin use. The perceived risk of harm from substance use is a key factor in initiation. We hypothesized that prescription pain reliever misuse is associated with a lower perceived risk of harm from trying heroin and from regular use. METHODS:Using the 2015-6 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), we evaluated the perceived risk of trying and regularly using heroin among heroin never-users. We estimated logistic regressions to assess the association between past-year prescription pain reliever misuse with the perceived risk of heroin initiation and regular use, adjusting for potential confounders. RESULTS:The sample contained 84,312 adults and 27,814 adolescents. Four percent of adults and 3.7% of

SUBMITTER: Kapadia SN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6488411 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature