Differences in prescription drug misuse among U.S. adults with and without disabilities.

Abstract

Introduction: Increasing evidence suggests that adults with disabilities have higher rates of drug misuse compared to adults without disabilities, however; there is limited information on rates of commonly misused prescription drugs (e.g., stimulants, opioids, tranquilizers) to quantify the magnitude of this disparity. Thus, the purpose of this cross-sectional study is to examine and compare prevalence rates of prescription drug misuse by disability status and age group in a national sample of U.S. adults.

Methods: Data (n=47,100 adults) from the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health was stratified by age group: 1) 18-29 years; 2) 30-49 years; 3) 50 - 64 years; and 4) 65+ years. Disability status, defined as difficulties with vision, hearing, ambulation, cognition, self-care, or communication, and misuse of prescription drugs were treated as dichotomous variables. Rao-Scott Chi-squared tests examined differences in misuse between individuals with and without disabilities, by age group, and logistic regression models estimated odds ratio for past-year misuse among individuals with disabilities compared to same-age peers without disabilities. All analyses were performed in June through August 2024.

Results: Adults with disabilities in the 18-29 and 30-49-year age groups had twice the odds of misusing stimulants, tranquilizers, and pain relivers compared to adults without disabilities. Adults with disabilities in both the 50 - 64 and 65+years age groups had over twice the odds of misusing pain relievers compared to adults without disabilities, however; there were no significant differences in stimulant or tranquilizer misuse.

Conclusions: Given the disparity in prescription drug misuse in adults with disabilities across all age groups and prescription drug category, further research should focus on prevention and treatment of misuse in this population.