Mental Health Conditions and Substance Use Disorders Among Youth Subsequently Diagnosed With Opioid Use Disorder or Opioid Poisoning

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Edeanya Agbese, Penn State College of Medicine; Bradley D Stein, RAND Corporation; Benjamin Druss, Emory University; Andrew W Dick, RAND Corporation; Rosalie L Pacula, University of Southern California; Douglas L Leslie, Penn State College of Medicine
• Language: English
• Date: 2022-05-01
• Publisher: LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2022 American Society of Addiction Medicine
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/ADM.0000000000000894
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: JOURNAL OF ADDICTION MEDICINE
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 3
• Start Page: 357
• End Page: 359
• Grant/Funding Information: This study was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (grant R01DA047396)
• Keywords: opioid use disorder; ADULTS; Substance Abuse; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; adolescents; substance use; mental health; opioid poisoning; ADOLESCENTS; Science & Technology; young adults

Abstract

Purpose This study examined receipt of services for mental health conditions and non-opioid substance use disorders (SUDs) among privately insured adolescents and young adults (ie, youth) with subsequent clinically diagnosed opioid use disorder (OUD) or opioid poisoning. Methods Among individuals aged 12 to 25 years (N = 4926), healthcare service utilization claims for the 2 years before a newly clinically diagnosed OUD or opioid poisoning were assessed for mental health and nonopioid SUD service visits. Results Over half (60.6%) of the youth with clinically diagnosed OUD or opioid poisoning received mental health or nonopioid SUD services in the 2 years before the opioid poisoning or OUD diagnosis. Conclusion Many adolescents and young adults with clinically diagnosed OUD or opioid poisoning interacted with the healthcare system to receive services for mental health conditions and nonopioid SUDs before the OUD or opioid poisoning being diagnosed. Opportunities exist to design better intervention strategies to prevent OUD or opioid poisoning among adolescents and young adults.