Dataset Information

Trends in Receipt of Buprenorphine and Naltrexone for Opioid Use Disorder Among Adolescents and Young Adults, 2001-2014.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Opioid use disorder (OUD) frequently begins in adolescence and young adulthood. Intervening early with pharmacotherapy is recommended by major professional organizations. No prior national studies have examined the extent to which adolescents and young adults (collectively termed youth) with OUD receive pharmacotherapy.

Objective

To identify time trends and disparities in receipt of buprenorphine and naltrexone among youth with OUD in the United States.

Design, setting, and participants

A retrospective cohort study was conducted using deidentified data from a national commercial insurance database. Enrollment and complete health insurance claims of 9.7 million youth, aged 13 to 25 years were analyzed, identifying individuals who received a diagnosis of OUD between January 1, 2001, and June 30, 2014, with final follow-up date December 31, 2014. Analysis was conducted from April 25 to December 31, 2016. Time trends were identified and multivariable logistic regression was used to determine sociodemographic factors associated with medication receipt.

Exposures

Sex, age, race/ethnicity, neighborhood education and poverty levels, geographic region, census region, and year of diagnosis.

Main outcomes and measures

Dispensing of a medication (buprenorphine or naltrexone) within 6 months of first receiving an OUD diagnosis.

Results

Among 20 822 youth diagnosed with OUD (0.2% of the 9.7 million sample), 13 698 (65.8%) were male and 17 119 (82.2%) were non-Hispanic white. Mean (SD) age was 21.0 (2.5) years at the first observed diagnosis. The diagnosis rate of OUD increased nearly 6-fold from 2001 to 2014 (from 0.26 per 100 000 person-years to 1.51 per 100 000 person-years). Overall, 5580 (26.8%) youth were dispensed a medication within 6 months of diagnosis, with 4976 (89.2%) of medication-treated youth receiving buprenorphine and 604 (10.8%) receiving naltrexone. Medication receipt increased more than 10-fold, from 3.0% in 2002 (when buprenorphine was introduced) to 31.8% in 2009, but declined in subsequent years (27.5% in 2014). In multivariable analyses, younger individuals were less likely to receive medications, with adjusted probability for age 13 to 15 years, 1.4% (95% CI, 0.4%-2.3%); 16 to 17 years, 9.7% (95% CI, 8.4%-11.1%); 18 to 20 years, 22.0% (95% CI, 21.0%-23.0%); and 21 to 25 years, 30.5% (95% CI, 30.0%-31.5%) (P < .001 for difference). Females (7124 [20.3%]) were less likely than males (13 698 [24.4%]) to receive medications (P < .001), as were non-Hispanic black (105 [14.8%]) and Hispanic (1165 [20.0%]) youth compared with non-Hispanic white (17 119 [23.1%]) youth (P < .001).

Conclusions and relevance

In this first national study of buprenorphine and naltrexone receipt among youth, dispensing increased over time. Nonetheless, only 1 in 4 commercially insured youth with OUD received pharmacotherapy, and disparities based on sex, age, and race/ethnicity were observed.

SUBMITTER: Hadland SE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5649381 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:We investigated prescribing patterns for four opioid use disorder (OUD) medications: 1) injectable naltrexone, 2) oral naltrexone, 3) sublingual or oralmucosal buprenorphine/naloxone, and 4) sublingual buprenorphine as well as transdermal buprenorphine (which is approved for treating pain, but not OUD) in a nationally representative claims-based database (Truven Health MarketScan®) of commercially insured individuals in the United States. We calculated the prevalence of OUD in the database for each year from 2010 to 2014 and the proportion of diagnosed patient months on OUD medication. We compared characteristics of individuals diagnosed with OUD who did and did not receive these medications with bivariate descriptive statistics. Finally, we fit a Cox proportional hazards model of time to discontinuation of therapy as a function of therapy type, controlling for relevant confounders. From 2010 to 2014, the proportion of commercially insured individuals diagnosed with OUD grew by fourfold (0.12% to 0.48%), but the proportion of diagnosed patient-months on medication decreased from 25% in 2010 (0.05% injectable naltrexone, 0.4% oral naltrexone, 23.1% sublingual or oralmucosal buprenorphine/naloxone, 1.5% sublingual buprenorphine, and 0% transdermal buprenorphine) to 16% in 2014 (0.2% injectable naltrexone, 0.4% oral naltrexone, 13.8% sublingual or oralmucosal buprenorphine/naloxone, 1.4% sublingual buprenorphine, and 0.3% transdermal buprenorphine). Individuals who received medication therapy were more likely to be male, younger, and have an additional substance use disorder compared with those diagnosed with OUD who did not receive medication therapy. Those prescribed injectable naltrexone were more often male, younger, and diagnosed with additional substance use disorders compared with those prescribed other medications for opioid use disorder (MOUDs). At 30 days after initiation, 52% for individuals treated with injectable naltrexone, 70% for individuals treated with oral naltrexone, 31% for individuals treated with sublingual or oralmucosal buprenorphine/naloxone, 58% for individuals treated with sublingual buprenorphine, and 51% for individuals treated with transdermal buprenorphine discontinued treatment. In the Cox proportional hazard model, use of injectable naltrexone, oral naltrexone, sublingual buprenorphine, and transdermal buprenorphine were all associated with significantly greater hazard of discontinuing therapy beginning >30days after MOUD initiation (HR=2.17, 2.54, 1.15, and 2.21, respectively, 95% CIs 2.04-2.30, 2.45-2.64, 1.10-1.19, and 2.11-2.33), compared with the use of sublingual or oralmucosal buprenorphine/naloxone. This analysis demonstrates that the use of evidence-based medication therapies has not kept pace with increases in OUD diagnoses in commercially insured populations in the United States. Among those who have been treated, discontinuation rates >30days after initiation are high. The proportion treated with injectable naltrexone, oral naltrexone, and transdermal buprenorphine grew over time but remains small, and the discontinuation rates are higher among those treated with these medications compared with those treated with sublingual or oralmucosal buprenorphine/naloxone. In the face of the opioid overdose and addiction crisis, new efforts are needed at the provider, health system, and policy levels so that MOUD availability and uptake keep pace with new OUD diagnoses and OUD treatment discontinuation is minimized.

Project description:ImportanceNonfatal opioid overdose may be a critical touch point when youths who have never received a diagnosis of opioid use disorder can be engaged in treatment. However, the extent to which youths (adolescents and young adults) receive timely evidence-based treatment following opioid overdose is unknown.ObjectiveTo identify characteristics of youths who experience nonfatal overdose with heroin or other opioids and to assess the percentage of youths receiving timely evidence-based treatment.Design, setting, and participantsThis retrospective cohort study used the 2009-2015 Truven-IBM Watson Health MarketScan Medicaid claims database from 16 deidentified states representing all US census regions. Data from 4 039 216 Medicaid-enrolled youths aged 13 to 22 years were included and were analyzed from April 20, 2018, to March 21, 2019.ExposuresNonfatal incident and recurrent opioid overdoses involving heroin or other opioids.Main outcomes and measuresReceipt of timely addiction treatment (defined as a claim for behavioral health services, for buprenorphine, methadone, or naltrexone prescription or administration, or for both behavioral health services and pharmacotherapy within 30 days of incident overdose). Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics associated with receipt of timely treatment as well as with incident and recurrent overdoses were also identified.ResultsAmong 3791 youths with nonfatal opioid overdose, 2234 (58.9%) were female, and 2491 (65.7%) were non-Hispanic white. The median age was 18 years (interquartile range, 16-20 years). The crude incident opioid overdose rate was 44.1 per 100 000 person-years. Of these 3791 youths, 1001 (26.4%) experienced a heroin overdose; the 2790 (73.6%) remaining youths experienced an overdose involving other opioids. The risk of recurrent overdose among youths with incident heroin involvement was significantly higher than that among youths with other opioid overdose (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.62; 95% CI, 2.14-3.22), and youths with incident heroin overdose experienced recurrent overdose at a crude rate of 20 700 per 100 000 person-years. Of 3606 youths with opioid-related overdose and continuous enrollment for at least 30 days after overdose, 2483 (68.9%) received no addiction treatment within 30 days after incident opioid overdose, whereas only 1056 youths (29.3%) received behavioral health services alone, and 67 youths (1.9%) received pharmacotherapy. Youths with heroin overdose were significantly less likely than youths with other opioid overdose to receive any treatment after their overdose (adjusted odds ratio, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.49-0.83).Conclusions and relevanceAfter opioid overdose, less than one-third of youths received timely addiction treatment, and only 1 in 54 youths received recommended evidence-based pharmacotherapy. Interventions are urgently needed to link youths to treatment after overdose, with priority placed on improving access to pharmacotherapy.