Mortality rate was 10-fold higher in opioid use disorder patients

Individuals with opioid use disorder had a 10-fold higher mortality rate than the general population in a general health care setting, according to a study of 2,576 patients.

When researchers examined the electronic health records of opioid use disorder patients in a large university health system and linked those with mortality data, they found those patients had a standardized mortality ratio of 10.3, compared with the general population and adjusted for sex and age.

The overall mortality rate was 18.1 percent, and the mean age of death was 51 years. The 465 patients who died over the course of the eight-year study were more likely to have been diagnosed with opioid use disorder at an older age, and were more likely to be male, to be black, and to not have health insurance.

Hepatitis C infection and alcohol use disorder were the two mostly clinically important indicators of overall mortality risk; however, none of the factors examined was a predictor of drug-related deaths.

Patients who died were also more likely to have been diagnosed with other substance use disorders, such as tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, or cocaine, and to have comorbidities such as heart disease, respiratory disease, hepatitis C infection, liver disease, cancer, or diabetes. The most common cause of death was drug-related-including poisoning, overdose, and alcohol and drug use disorder-followed by cardiovascular disease, cancer, and infectious diseases such as hepatitis C.

The elevated mortality rates in the group was called “alarming,” and suggested the rates may be the result of issues that health care systems have in identifying and addressing opioid use disorder problems.

First, SUDs (substance use disorders) are not routinely screened for in primary care, and most primary care physicians  have not received adequate training to diagnose and treat OUD (opioid use disorder),” the authors wrote. “It is likely that patients seen in this health system became progressively sicker, as their OUD problem was not identified until very late in its course and after physical health complications had already ensued.”

Second, patients with opioid use disorder may not be getting referrals for treatment. Finally, those who have problems with prescription opioids may be harder to identify than patients with heroin addiction.

“The alarmingly  high morbidity and mortality among OUD patients revealed in the present study challenge health care systems to find new and innovative ways to expand evidence-based strategies for OUD in a variety of settings,” the investigators concluded.

The study was partly supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Center for Advancing Translational Science. One author declared royalties as a section editor for UpToDate.