The Authors’ Own Words: We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.
Ty S. Schepis, PhD & Jahn K. Hakes, PhD
Substance Abuse Vol. 38, Iss. 4, 2017
“This study was the among first to look at factors associated with the time involved in the transition from initial opioid use to opioid use disorder in adults engaged in nonmedical opioid use. We found that age of nonmedical opioid use initiation was a key factor in both the development of dependence, with younger initiation raising odds of developing a use disorder, and in the time to develop dependence. In contrast to development of dependence, time to dependence was longer in individuals who initiated nonmedical opioid use at younger ages. Presence of an alcohol use disorder diagnosis was associated with more rapid development of opioid use disorder, while a depressive disorder diagnosis was associated with slower development of opioid use disorder. These results highlight the need to prevention efforts and screening of younger individuals in school and medical settings for initiation of nonmedical opioid use, as such early initiation is associated with greater odds of later opioid use disorder; in contrast, screening in university or vocational settings should aim to identify those initiating opioid nonmedical use at a later age and prevent acceleration of such use, as those initiating at older ages are at risk for more rapid development of an opioid use disorder.”
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