Trajectories of remission and mortality over 13 years after intake to substance use treatment.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the relationships between long-term patterns of substance use and mortality risk among substance use disorder (SUD) patients. OBJECTIVE: To determine distinct patterns of remission and relapse of SUD over time and examine their relationship with mortality. METHODS: The study site was Kaiser Permanente of Northern California. Data for 997 adults who entered substance use treatment between 1994 and 1996 and 4,241 non-SUD patients with similar demographic distributions (35% women in both groups) were analyzed. Latent class growth analysis identified distinct remission trajectory groups over 13 years among SUD patients, and survival analyses were conducted to examine the risk of death between remission trajectory groups, and SUD and non-SUD patients within each remission trajectory group. RESULTS: Three distinct remission trajectory groups were identified among SUD patients: 1) early relapse-low remission probabilities; 2) declining remission-decreasing remission probabilities; and 3) stable remission-stable remission probabilities across all time points. Among the SUD patients, the early relapse group had a higher risk of death than those stably remitted; stable and declining remission groups did not differ. Comparisons within each remission trajectory group showed that SUD patients in the early relapse and stable remission groups had higher risks of death compared with non-SUD patients; there were no differences within the declining group. CONCLUSIONS: SUD patients in the stable remission group had lower survival rates compared with non-SUD patients. These findings underline the importance of continuously addressing healthcare needs of individuals with SUD, even in the presence of long-term remission.

Alcohol brief intervention in primary care: Blood pressure outcomes in hypertensive patients.

BACKGROUND: In clinical trials alcohol brief intervention (BI) in adult primary care has been efficacious in reducing alcohol consumption, but we know little about its impact on health outcomes. Hypertension is a prevalent and costly chronic condition in the U.S. and worldwide, and alcohol use is a modifiable hypertension risk factor. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of receiving BI for unhealthy drinking on blood pressure (BP) control among adult hypertensive patients by analyzing secondary data from a clustered, randomized controlled trial on alcohol screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) implementation by primary care physicians (PCP intervention arm) and non-physician providers and medical assistants (NPP&MA intervention arm) in a large, integrated health care delivery system. DESIGN: Observational, prospective cohort study. SUBJECTS: 3811 adult hypertensive primary care patients screening positive for past-year heavy drinking at baseline, of which 1422 (37%) had an electronic health record BP measure at baseline and 18-month follow-up. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Change in BP and controlled BP (systolic/diastolic BP <140/90mmHg). RESULTS: Overall no significant associations were found between alcohol BI and BP change at 18-month follow-up when analyzing the combined sample of subjects in both intervention arms. However, moderation analyses found that receiving BI for positive past-year unhealthy drinking was positively associated with better BP control at 18months in the PCP intervention arm, and for those with lower heavy drinking frequency and poor BP control at the index screening. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that hypertensive patients may benefit from receiving physician brief intervention for unhealthy alcohol use in primary care. Findings also highlight potential population-level benefits of alcohol BI if widely applied, suggesting a need for the development of innovative strategies to facilitate SBIRT delivery in primary care settings.

Physician versus non-physician delivery of alcohol screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment in adult primary care: the ADVISe cluster randomized controlled implementation trial.

BACKGROUND: Unhealthy alcohol use is a major contributor to the global burden of disease and injury. The US Preventive Services Task Force has recommended alcohol screening and intervention in general medical settings since 2004. Yet less than one in six US adults report health care professionals discussing alcohol with them. Little is known about methods for increasing implementation; different staffing models may be related to implementation effectiveness. This implementation trial compared delivery of alcohol screening, brief intervention and referral to specialty treatment (SBIRT) by physicians versus non-physician providers receiving training, technical assistance, and feedback reports. METHODS: The study was a cluster randomized implementation trial (ADVISe [Alcohol Drinking as a Vital Sign]). Within a private, integrated health care system, 54 adult primary care clinics were stratified by medical center and randomly assigned in blocked groups of three to SBIRT by physicians (PCP arm) versus non-physician providers and medical assistants (NPP and MA arm), versus usual care (Control arm). NIH-recommended screening questions were added to the electronic health record (EHR) to facilitate SBIRT. We examined screening and brief intervention and referral rates by arm. We also examined patient-, physician-, and system-level factors affecting screening rates and, among those who screened positive, rates of brief intervention and referral to treatment. RESULTS: Screening rates were highest in the NPP and MA arm (51 %); followed by the PCP arm (9 %) and the Control arm (3.5 %). Screening increased over the 12 months after training in the NPP and MA arm but remained stable in the PCP arm. The PCP arm had higher brief intervention and referral rates (44 %) among patients screening positive than either the NPP and MA arm (3.4 %) or the Control arm (2.7 %). Higher ratio of MAs to physicians was related to higher screening rates in the NPP and MA arm and longer appointment times to screening and intervention rates in the PCP arm. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that time frames longer than 12 months may be required for full SBIRT implementation. Screening by MAs with intervention and referral by physicians as needed can be a feasible model for increasing the implementation of this critical and under-utilized preventive health service within currently predominant primary care models. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trials NCT01135654.

Screening and brief intervention for substance misuse: Does it reduce aggression and HIV-related risk behaviours?

PURPOSE: To explore whether reducing substance misuse through a brief motivational intervention also reduces aggression and HIV risk behaviours. METHODS: Participants were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial in primary care if they screened positive for substance misuse. Substance misuse was assessed using the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test; aggression, using a modified version of the Explicit Aggression Scale; and HIV risk, through a count of common risk behaviours. The intervention was received on the day of the baseline interview, with a 3-month follow-up. RESULTS: Participants who received the intervention were significantly more likely to reduce their alcohol use than those who did not; no effect was identified for other substances. In addition, participants who reduced substance misuse (whether as an effect of the intervention or not) also reduced aggression but not HIV risk behaviours. CONCLUSIONS: Reducing substance misuse through any means reduces aggression; other interventions are needed for HIV risk reduction.

Significant life events and their impact on alcohol and drug use: a qualitative study.

This study used a life-course perspective to identify and understand life events related to long-term alcohol and other drug (AOD) use trajectories across the life span. Using a purposive sample, we conducted semi-structured telephone interviews with 48 participants (n = 30 abstinent and 18 non-abstinent) from a longitudinal study of AOD outcomes 15 years following outpatient AOD treatment. A content analysis was conducted using ATLAS.ti software to identify events and salient themes. Caregiving for an ill or dependent family member was related to better AOD outcomes by reinforcing abstinence and reduced drinking, and contributing to alcohol cessation in most individuals who cited caregiving as a pivotal event. Grandparenting and parenting an adult child were motivational for sustaining abstinence and reduced drinking. Findings were mixed on death of a loved one, which was related to abstinence in some and relapse in others. Redemption and mutual fulfillment as caregivers, reconciliations with adult children, and legacy-building as grandparents were themes associated with maintaining abstinence and reduced drinking. AOD treatment has the opportunity to employ motivational interventions for relapse prevention that address the meaning and lifelong reach of intimate relationships for individuals and their AOD use across the life span.

Advising depression patients to reduce alcohol and drug use: factors associated with provider intervention in outpatient psychiatry.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Mental health clinicians have an important opportunity to help depression patients reduce co-occurring alcohol and drug use. This study examined demographic and clinical patient characteristics and service factors associated with receiving a recommendation to reduce alcohol and drug use from providers in a university-based outpatient psychiatry clinic. METHODS: The sample consisted of 97 participants ages 18 and older who reported hazardous drinking (≥3 drinks/occasion), illegal drug use (primarily cannabis) or misuse of prescription drugs, and who scored ≥15 on the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Participants were interviewed at intake and 6 months. RESULTS: At 6-month telephone interview, 30% of participants reported that a clinic provider had recommended that they reduce alcohol or drug use. In logistic regression, factors associated with receiving advice to reduce use included greater number of drinks consumed in the 30 days prior to intake (p = .035); and greater depression severity on the BDI-II (p = .096) and hazardous drinking at 6 months (p = .05). CONCLUSIONS AND SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: While participants with greater alcohol intake and depression symptom severity were more likely to receive advice to reduce use, the low overall rate of recommendation to reduce use highlights the need to improve alcohol and drug use intervention among depression patients, and potentially to address alcohol and drug training and treatment implementation issues among mental health providers.

Effectiveness of nurse-practitioner-delivered brief motivational intervention for young adult alcohol and drug use in primary care in South Africa: a randomized clinical trial.

AIMS: To assess the effectiveness of brief motivational intervention for alcohol and drug use in young adult primary care patients in a low-income population and country. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial in a public-sector clinic in Delft, a township in the Western Cape, South Africa recruited 403 patients who were randomized to either single-session, nurse practitioner-delivered Brief Motivational Intervention plus referral list or usual care plus referral list, and followed up at 3 months. RESULTS: Although rates of at-risk alcohol use and drug use did not differ by treatment arm at follow-up, patients assigned to the Brief Motivational Intervention had significantly reduced scores on ASSIST (Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test) for alcohol-the most prevalent substance. CONCLUSION: Brief Motivational Intervention may be effective at reducing at-risk alcohol use in the short term among low-income young adult primary care patients; additional research is needed to examine long-term outcomes.

Comparison of health care needs of child family members of adults with alcohol or drug dependence versus adults with asthma or diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the health problems, preventive care utilization, and medical costs of child family members (CFMs) of adults diagnosed with alcohol or drug dependence (AODD) to CFMs of adults diagnosed with diabetes or asthma. METHODS: Child family members of adults diagnosed with AODD between 2002 and 2005 and CFMs of matched adults diagnosed with diabetes or asthma were followed up to 7 years after diagnosis of the index adult. Logistic regression was used to determine whether the CFMs of AODD adults were more likely to be diagnosed with medical conditions, or get preventive care, than the CFMs of adults with asthma or diabetes. Children's health services use was compared using multivariate models. RESULTS: In Year 5 after index date, CFMs of adults with AODD were more likely to be diagnosed with depression and AODD than CFMs of adults with asthma or diabetes and were less likely to be diagnosed with asthma, otitis media, and pneumonia than CFMs of adults with asthma. CFMs of AODD adults were less likely than CFMs of adult asthmatic patients to have annual well-child visits. CFMs of AODD adults had similar mean annual total health care costs to CFMs of adults with asthma but higher total costs ($159/yr higher, confidence interval, $56-$253) than CFMs of adult diabetic patients. CFMs of adults with AODD had higher emergency department, higher outpatient alcohol and drug program, higher outpatient psychiatry, and lower primary care costs than CFMs of either adult asthmatic patients or diabetic patients. CONCLUSION: Children in families with an alcohol- or drug-dependent adult have unique patterns of health conditions, and differences in the types of health services used, compared to children in families with an adult asthmatic or diabetic family member. However, overall cost and utilization for health care services is similar or only somewhat higher. This is the first study of its kind, and the results have implications for the reduction of parental alcohol or drug dependence stigma by health care providers, clearly an important issue in this era of health reform.

Five-year healthcare utilization and costs among lower-risk drinkers following alcohol treatment.

BACKGROUND: Lower-risk drinking is increasingly being examined as a treatment outcome for some patients following addiction treatment. However, few studies have examined the relationship between drinking status (lower-risk drinking in particular) and healthcare utilization and cost, which has important policy implications. METHODS: Participants were adults with alcohol dependence and/or abuse diagnoses who received outpatient alcohol and other drug treatment in a private, nonprofit integrated healthcare delivery system and had a follow-up interview 6 months after treatment entry (N = 995). Associations between past 30-day drinking status at 6 months (abstinence, lower-risk drinking defined as nonabstinence and no days of 5+ drinking, and heavy drinking defined as 1 or more days of 5+ drinking) and repeated measures of at least 1 emergency department (ED), inpatient or primary care visit, and their costs over 5 years were examined using mixed-effects models. We modeled an interaction between time and drinking status to examine trends in utilization and costs over time by drinking group. RESULTS: Heavy drinkers and lower-risk drinkers were not significantly different from the abstainers in their cost or utilization at time 0 (i.e., 6 months postintake). Heavy drinkers had increasing odds of inpatient (p < 0.01) and ED (p < 0.05) utilization over 5 years compared with abstainers. Lower-risk drinkers and abstainers did not significantly differ in their service use in any category over time. No differences were found in changes in primary care use among the 3 groups over time. The cost analyses paralleled the utilization results. Heavy drinkers had increasing ED (p < 0.05) and inpatient (p < 0.001) costs compared with the abstainers; primary care costs did not significantly differ. Lower-risk drinkers did not have significantly different medical costs compared with those who were abstinent over 5 years. However, post hoc analyses found lower-risk drinkers and heavy drinkers to not significantly differ in their ED use or costs over time. CONCLUSIONS: Performance measures for treatment settings that consider treatment outcomes may need to take into account both abstinence and reduction to nonheavy drinking. Future research should examine whether results are replicated in harm reduction treatment, or whether such outcomes are found only in abstinence-based treatment.

Posttreatment low-risk drinking as a predictor of future drinking and problem outcomes among individuals with alcohol use disorders.

BACKGROUND: Treatment for alcohol disorders has traditionally been abstinence-oriented, but evaluating the merits of a low-risk drinking outcome as part of a primary treatment endpoint is a timely issue given new pertinent regulatory guidelines. This study explores a posttreatment low-risk drinking outcome as a predictor of future drinking and problem severity outcomes among individuals with alcohol use disorders in a large private, not for profit, integrated care health plan. METHODS: Study participants include adults with alcohol use disorders at 6 months (N = 995) from 2 large randomized studies. Logistic regression models were used to explore the relationship between past 30-day drinker status at 6 months posttreatment (abstinent [66%], low-risk drinking [14%] defined as nonabstinence and no days of 5+ drinking, and heavy drinking [20%] defined as 1 or more days of 5+ drinking) and 12-month outcomes, including drinking status and Addiction Severity Index measures of medical, psychiatric, family/social, and employment severity, controlling for baseline covariates. RESULTS: Compared to heavy drinkers, abstinent individuals and low-risk drinkers at 6 months were more likely to be abstinent or low-risk drinkers at 12 months (adj. ORs = 16.7 and 3.4, respectively; p < 0.0001); though, the benefit of abstinence was much greater than that of low-risk drinking. Compared to heavy drinkers, abstinent and low-risk drinkers were similarly associated with lower 12-month psychiatric severity (adj. ORs = 1.8 and 2.2, respectively, p < 0.01) and family/social problem severity (adj. OR = 2.2; p < 0.01). While abstinent individuals had lower 12-month employment severity than heavy drinkers (adj. OR = 1.9; p < 0.01), low-risk drinkers did not differ from heavy drinkers. The drinking groups did not differ on 12-month medical problem severity. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to heavy drinkers, low-risk drinkers did as well as abstinent individuals for many of the outcomes important to health and addiction policy. Thus, an endpoint that allows low-risk drinking may be tenable for individuals undergoing alcohol specialty treatment.

The role of continuing care in 9-year cost trajectories of patients with intakes into an outpatient alcohol and drug treatment program.

BACKGROUND: The importance of a continuing care approach for substance use disorders (SUDs) is increasingly being recognized. Our prior research found that a Continuing Care model for SUDs that incorporates 3 components (regular primary care, and specialty SUD and psychiatric treatment as needed) is beneficial to long-term remission. The study builds on this work to examine the cost implications of this model. OBJECTIVES: To examine associations between receiving Continuing Care and subsequent health care costs over 9 years among adults entering outpatient SUD treatment in a private nonprofit, integrated managed care health plan. We also compare the results to a similar analysis of a demographically matched control group without SUDs. STUDY DESIGN: Longitudinal observational study. MEASURES: Measures collected over 9 years include demographic characteristics, self-reported alcohol and drug use and Addiction Severity Index, and health care utilization and cost data from health plan databases. RESULTS: Within the treatment sample, SUD patients receiving all components of Continuing Care had lower costs than those receiving fewer components. Compared with the demographically matched non-SUD controls, those not receiving Continuing Care had significantly higher inpatient costs (excess cost = $65.79/member-month; P < 0.01) over 9 years, whereas no difference was found between those receiving Continuing Care and controls. CONCLUSIONS: Although a causal link cannot be established between receiving Continuing Care and reduced long-term costs in this observational study, the findings reinforce the importance of access to health care and development of interventions that optimize patients receiving those services and that may reduce costs to health systems.

Ten-year stability of remission in private alcohol and drug outpatient treatment: non-problem users versus abstainers.

BACKGROUND: This study examined stability of remission in patients who were abstainers and non-problem users at 1-year after entering private, outpatient alcohol and drug treatment. We examined: (a) How does risk of relapse change over time? (b) What was the risk of relapse for non-problem users versus abstainers? (c) What individual, treatment, and extra-treatment characteristics predicted time to relapse, and did these differ by non-problem use versus abstinence? METHODS: The sample consisted of 684 adults in remission (i.e., abstainers or non-problem users) 1 year following treatment intake. Participants were interviewed at intake, and 1, 5, 7, 9, and 11 years after intake. We used discrete-time survival analysis to examine when relapse is most likely to occur and predictors of relapse. RESULTS: Relapse was most likely at 5-year, and least likely at 11-year follow-up. Non-problem users had twice the odds of relapse compared to abstainers. Younger individuals and those with fewer 12-step meetings and shorter index treatment had higher odds of relapse than others. We found no significant interactions between non-problem use and the other covariates suggesting that significant predictors of outcome did not differ for non-problem users. CONCLUSIONS: Non-problem use is not an optimal 1-year outcome for those in an abstinence-oriented, heterogeneous substance use treatment program. Future research should examine whether these results are found in harm reduction treatment and self-help models, or in those with less severe problems. Results suggest treatment retention and 12-step participation are prognostic markers of long-term positive outcomes for those achieving remission at 1 year.

Effects of age and life transitions on alcohol and drug treatment outcome over nine years.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of age, common life transitions, treatment, and social support on outcomes 5-9 years after alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment intake. METHOD: Participants were patients from a large outpatient AOD treatment program in an integrated health plan. There were 1,951 participants interviewed at intake, of whom 1,646 (84%) completed one or more telephone follow-up interviews at 5, 7, and 9 years. Measures included AOD use based on the Addiction Severity Index; treatment; and changes in marital, employment, and health status in the years between each follow-up. We compared participants by age group (18-39, 40-54, and ≥55 years old at intake) and examined factors (time invariant and time varying) associated with outcomes at 5, 7, and 9 years by fitting mixed-effects logistic random intercept models. RESULTS: Changes in marital, employment, and health status varied significantly by age. Factors associated with remission across Years 5-9 included being in the middle-aged versus younger group (p < .001); female gender (p < .001); not losing a partner to separation, divorce, or death (p < .001); not experiencing a decline in health (p = .021); having any close friends supportive of recovery (p < .001); and not having any close friends who encourage AOD use (p < .001). Additional predictors, including employment changes, varied by drug versus alcohol abstinence outcome measures. CONCLUSIONS: Negative life transitions vary by age and are associated with worse outcomes. Older age and social support are associated with long-term AOD remission and abstinence. Findings inform treatment strategies to enhance recovery across the life span.

Continuing care and long-term substance use outcomes in managed care: early evidence for a primary care-based model.

OBJECTIVES: How best to provide ongoing services to patients with substance use disorders to sustain long-term recovery is a significant clinical and policy question that has not been adequately addressed. Analyzing nine years of prospective data for 991 adults who entered substance abuse treatment in a private, nonprofit managed care health plan, this study aimed to examine the components of a continuing care model (primary care, specialty substance abuse treatment, and psychiatric services) and their combined effect on outcomes over nine years after treatment entry. METHODS: In a longitudinal observational study, follow-up measures included self-reported alcohol and drug use, Addiction Severity Index scores, and service utilization data extracted from the health plan databases. Remission, defined as abstinence or nonproblematic use, was the outcome measure. RESULTS: A mixed-effects logistic random intercept model controlling for time and other covariates found that yearly primary care, and specialty care based on need as measured at the prior time point, were positively associated with remission over time. Persons receiving continuing care (defined as having yearly primary care and specialty substance abuse treatment and psychiatric services when needed) had twice the odds of achieving remission at follow-ups (p<.001) as those without. CONCLUSIONS: Continuing care that included both primary care and specialty care management to support ongoing monitoring, self-care, and treatment as needed was important for long-term recovery of patients with substance use disorders.

Stopping smoking during first year of substance use treatment predicted 9-year alcohol and drug treatment outcomes.

This study examined the association between stopping smoking at 1 year after substance use treatment intake and long-term substance use outcomes. Nine years of prospective data from 1185 adults (39% female) in substance use treatment at a private health care setting were analyzed by multivariate logistic generalized estimating equation models. At 1 year, 14.1% of 716 participants who smoked cigarettes at intake reported stopping smoking, and 10.7% of the 469 non-smokers at intake reported smoking. After adjusting for sociodemographics, substance use severity and diagnosis at intake, length of stay in treatment, and substance use status at 1 year, those who stopped smoking at 1 year were more likely to be past-year abstinent from drugs, or in past-year remission of drugs and alcohol combined, at follow-ups than those who continued to smoke (OR=2.4, 95% CI: 1.2-4.7 and OR=1.6, 95% CI: 1.1-2.4, respectively). Stopping smoking at 1 year also predicted past-year alcohol abstinence through 9 years after intake among those with drug-only dependence (OR=2.4, 95% CI: 1.2-4.5). We found no association between past-year alcohol abstinence and change in smoking status at 1 year for those with alcohol dependence or other substance use diagnoses when controlling for alcohol use status at 1 year. Stopping smoking during the first year after substance use treatment intake predicted better long-term substance use outcomes through 9 years after intake. Findings support promoting smoking cessation among smoking clients in substance use treatment.

Individuals receiving addiction treatment: are medical costs of their family members reduced?

AIMS: To examine whether alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment is related to reduced medical costs of family members. DESIGN: Using the administrative databases of a private, integrated health plan, we matched AOD treatment patients with health plan members without AOD disorders on age, gender and utilization, identifying family members of each group. SETTING: Kaiser Permanente Northern California. PARTICIPANTS: Family members of abstinent and non-abstinent AOD treatment patients and control family members. MEASUREMENTS: We measured abstinence at 1 year post-intake and examined health care costs per member-month of family members of AOD patients and of controls through 5 years. We used generalized estimating equation methods to examine differences in average medical cost per member-month for each year, between family members of abstinent and non-abstinent AOD patients and controls. We used multilevel models to examine 4-year cost trajectories, controlling for pre-intake cost, age, gender and family size. RESULTS: AOD patients' family members had significantly higher costs and more psychiatric and medical conditions than controls in the pre-treatment year. At 2-5 years, each year family members of AOD patients abstinent at 1 year had similar average per member-month medical costs to controls (e.g. difference at year 5 = $2.63; P > 0.82), whereas costs for family members of non-abstinent patients were higher (e.g. difference at year 5 = $35.59; P = 0.06). Family members of AOD patients not abstinent at 1 year, had a trajectory of increasing medical cost (slope = $10.32; P = 0.03) relative to controls. CONCLUSIONS: Successful AOD treatment is related to medical cost reductions for family members, which may be considered a proxy for their improved health.

Stress, substance use and sexual risk behaviors among primary care patients in Cape Town, South Africa.

We assessed the relationship between stress, substance use and sexual risk behaviors in a primary care population in Cape Town, South Africa. A random sample of participants (and over-sampled 18-24-year-olds) from 14 of the 49 clinics in Cape Town's public health sector using stratified random sampling (n = 2,618), was selected. We evaluated current hazardous drug and alcohol use and three domains of stressors (Personal Threats, Lacking Basic Needs, and Interpersonal Problems). Several personal threat stressors and an interpersonal problem stressor were related to sexual risk behaviors. With stressors included in the model, hazardous alcohol use, but not hazardous drug use, was related to higher rates of sexual risk behaviors. Our findings suggest a positive screening for hazardous alcohol use should alert providers about possible sexual risk behaviors and vice versa. Additionally, it is important to address a broad scope of social problems and incorporate stress and substance use in HIV prevention campaigns.

Trends in prescribed opioid therapy for non-cancer pain for individuals with prior substance use disorders.

Long-term opioid therapy for non-cancer pain has increased. Caution is advised in prescribing for persons with substance use disorders, but little is known about actual health plan practices. This paper reports trends and characteristics of long-term opioid use in persons with non-cancer pain and a substance abuse history. Using health plan data (1997-2005), the study compared age-sex-standardized rates of incident, incident long-term and prevalent long-term prescription opioid use, and medication use profiles in those with and without substance use disorder histories. The CONsortium to Study Opioid Risks and Trends study included adult enrollees of two health plans, Kaiser Permanente of Northern California (KPNC) and Group Health Cooperative (GH) of Seattle, Washington. At KPNC (1999-2005), prevalence of long-term use increased from 11.6% to 17.0% for those with substance use disorder histories and from 2.6% to 3.9% for those without substance use disorder histories. Respective GH rates (1997-2005), increased from 7.6% to 18.6% and from 2.7% to 4.2%. Among persons with an opioid disorder, KPNC rates increased from 44.1% to 51.1%, and GH rates increased from 15.7% to 52.4%. Long-term opioid users with a prior substance abuse diagnosis received higher dosage levels, were more likely to use Schedule II and long-acting opioids, and were more often frequent users of sedative-hypnotic medications in addition to their opioid use. Since these patients are viewed as higher risk, the increased use of long-term opioid therapy suggests the importance of improved understanding of the benefits and risks of opioid therapy among persons with a history of substance abuse, and the need for more careful screening for substance abuse history than is the usual practice.

Family members of people with alcohol or drug dependence: health problems and medical cost compared to family members of people with diabetes and asthma.

AIMS: To compare the medical costs and prevalence of health conditions of family members of people with an alcohol or drug dependence (AODD) diagnosis to family members of people with diabetes and asthma. SETTING: Kaiser Permanente of Northern California (KPNC). PARTICIPANTS: Family members of people diagnosed with AODD between 2002 and 2005, and matched samples of family members of people diagnosed with diabetes and asthma. MEASUREMENTS: Logistic regression was used to determine whether the family members of people with AODD were more likely to be diagnosed with medical conditions than family members of people with diabetes or asthma. Multivariate models were used to compare health services cost and utilization of AODD family members and diabetes and asthma family members. Analyses were for the year before, and 2 years following, initial diagnosis of the index person. FINDINGS: In the year before initial diagnosis of the index person, AODD family members were more likely to be diagnosed with substance use disorders, depression and trauma than diabetes or asthma family members. AODD family members had higher total health-care costs than diabetes family members in the year following, and the second year following, the index date ($217 and $293, respectively). AODD family members had higher total health-care costs than asthma family members in the year before, and second year following, the index date ($104 and $269, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: AODD family members have unique patterns of health conditions compared to the diabetes and asthma family members and have similar, or higher, health-care cost and utilization.

Medical Conditions of Hazardous Drinkers and Drug Users in Primary Care Clinics in Cape Town, South Africa.

Research has identified a wide range of health conditions related to alcohol and drug use in studies conducted primarily in developed countries and in populations with severe alcohol and drug problems. Little is known about medical conditions in those with less severe alcohol and drug use in developing countries. We used WHO AUDIT and ASSIST screeners to identify hazardous drinking or drug use in public health clinics in Cape Town, South Africa, and included questions about doctor-diagnosed medical conditions. Using logistic regression we examined the relationship of medical conditions to hazardous alcohol, drug and tobacco use. Those with hazardous substance use had higher prevalence of many health conditions including tuberculosis. Hepatitis B, migraine, chronic bronchitis, and liver cirrhosis. Optimal treatment for some medical conditions may include treatment of underlying hazardous substance use, particularly use of drugs other than alcohol. In these populations, access to substance use treatment is limited and even brief interventions or advice may be useful.