Self-reported disposal of leftover opioids among US adults 50-80.

To test the association between self-reported opioid disposal education and self-reported disposal of leftover opioids among older adults. Web-based survey from the National Poll on Healthy Aging (March 2018) using population-based weighting for nationally representative estimates. Older adults aged 50-80 years who reported filling an opioid prescription within the past 2 years. Respondents were asked whether they received education from a prescriber or pharmacist on how to dispose of leftover opioids and whether they disposed of leftover opioids from recent prescriptions. The association between self-reported opioid disposal education and self-reported disposal of leftover opioids was estimated with multivariable logistic regression, testing for interactions with respondent demographics. Among 2013 respondents (74% response rate), 596 (28.9% (26.8%-31.2%)) were prescribed opioids within the past 2 years. Education on opioid disposal was reported by 40.1% of respondents (35.8%-44.5%). Among 295 respondents with leftover medication, 19.0% (14.6%-24.5%) disposed of the leftover medications. Opioid disposal education was associated with a greater likelihood of self-reported disposal of leftover opioids among non-white respondents as compared with white non-Hispanic respondents (36.7% (16.8%-56.6%) vs 7.8% (0.1%-15.6%), p<0.01). In this nationally representative survey, 49% had leftover opioids, yet only 20% of older adults reported disposal of leftover opioids. Opioid disposal education was variable in delivery, but was associated with disposal behaviors among certain populations. Strategies to promote disposal should integrate patient education on the risks of leftover opioid medications and explore additional barriers to accessing opioid disposal methods.

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© American Society of Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine 2020. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Competing interests: ES and MK report grant funding from AARP, during the conduct of the study. CMB, MJE, and JFW receive funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and the University of Michigan Precision Health Initiative. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of SAMHSA or the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. CMB reports a patent for peripheral perineural dexmedetomidine licensed to the University of Michigan and is a consultant for Heron Therapeutics (Redwood City, California), not related to the present work, and received research funding from Neuros Medical (Willoughby Hills, Ohio), not related to the current work. JFW also receives research funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (K08 1K08HS023313-01), the American College of Surgeons, and the American Foundation for Surgery of the Hand, and serves as an unpaid consultant for 3M Health Information Systems.