Prescription pain reliever misuse prevalence, correlates, and origin of possession throughout the life course

• Sources of pain reliever misuse across the life span are examined.
• Illicit drug use was a predictor of pain reliever misuse across all age groups.
• Older adults often reported possession from multiple medical doctors.
• Younger persons often reported possession from friend/relative or from a dealer.
• Drug use screening in medical settings may reduce prescription pain reliever misuse.
• Origins of possession can improve interventions among different age groups.

IntroductionWhile a considerable amount of information is available concerning who is most likely to engage in prescription pain reliever misuse, few studies have examined whether the correlates of pain reliever misuse and sources of pain reliever possession are consistent across the life span.MethodsData from the 2011–2012 National Survey in Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Multivariate logistic regression examined clinical and social correlates of past-year pain reliever misuse, stratified by age. Additionally, bivariate analyses examined sources of pain reliever possession, and whether these origins differ by age.ResultsAmong respondents, 4.7% reported past-year prescription pain reliever misuse. Prevalence for individuals aged 12 to 17 was 5.9%, 18 to 25 was 10.2%, 26–34 was 7.7%, 35 to 49 was 4.3%, and individuals aged 50 or older was 1.7%. While many social and clinical correlates of pain reliever misuse emerged among younger respondents, these correlates diminished in significance among older adults. Only past-year illicit drug use disorders (marijuana, cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, and hallucinogen use) was a significant predictor of pain reliever misuse among all age groups. Also, older adults were more likely to report pain reliever possession from multiple medical doctors, whereas younger individuals were more likely to possess pain reliever from friends/relatives or through purchase from a drug dealer/stranger.ConclusionsIncreased efforts to better screen for illicit drug use and greater efforts to coordinate patient prescription records among medical care providers may be high priorities in developing interventions to reduce rates of misuse of prescription pain relievers, especially among older adults.