“Among older Americans, the poorest are the most likely to have used prescription opioids, according to a University at Buffalo study providing new insights into unexplored contours of the opioid crisis.
The study also raises important questions about access to pain management options for the disadvantaged in the current climate of the opioid epidemic. “The poor had about double the rate of opioid use compared to wealthier groups,” says Hanna Grol-Prokopczyk, an assistant professor in UB’s sociology department and the study’s author. “The poor are the ones who have been disproportionately relying on these medications—and it’s not always easy for them to switch to other ways of dealing with chronic pain.”
Grol-Prokopczyk, an expert in chronic pain, says the poor are less healthy than the general population and experience more pain, but her findings, which focused on prescribed use, not misuse, of opioids, indicate that even for the same pain level, the poor were more likely to be using prescription opioids.”
Read more at: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-09-poorest-americans-prescription-opioidsand-users.html
Source: MedicalExpress.com – September 12, 2018
