One in Five With Opioid Use Disorder Receive Medications

Medications for OUD more likely for those with severe versus mild past-year OUD, receiving substance use treatment via telehealth

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Aug. 10, 2023 (HealthDay News) — About 20 percent of adults with past-year opioid use disorder (OUD) in 2021 received medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), according to a research letter published online Aug. 7 in JAMA Network Open.

Christopher M. Jones, Pharm.D., M.P.H., from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and colleagues used data from the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health to provide the latest estimates of MOUD receipt among U.S. adults with past-year OUD.

An estimated 2.5 million adults had past-year OUD in 2021. The researchers found that 35.6 percent of adults with past-year OUD received any past-year substance use treatment and 22.3 percent received MOUD. Among adults with past-year OUD, the odds of receiving MOUD were increased among those with severe versus mild past-year OUD (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 5.45), those receiving substance use treatment via telehealth in the past year (AOR, 37.78), and those with family income of <$20,000 or $20,000 to $49,999 versus â¥$75,000 (AORs, 6.13 and 4.73, respectively). The odds of receiving MOUD were lower for women (AOR, 0.17), non-Hispanic Black versus White adults (AOR, 0.07), unemployed versus those in full-time employment (AOR, 0.07), those living in nonmetropolitan versus large metropolitan areas (AOR, 0.31), and those with past-year cannabis disorder (AOR, 0.17).

“Consistent with prior research, receipt of telehealth treatment for substance use was associated with increased likelihood of MOUD receipt,” the authors write. “This finding underscores the growing role telehealth can play in connecting patients with OUD to care.”

One author disclosed ties to industry.

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