Quality of Life and Opioid Use Motives: Direct and Indirect Associations with Risky Opioid Use in a Community Sample of Adults

Purpose: The opioid epidemic in the United States has resulted in mass mortality and economic costs exceeding $1 trillion. Poor health-related quality of life is evident among individuals entering treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). Yet, little research has examined the influence of quality of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Substance use & misuse Vol. 57; no. 14; pp. 2117 - 2125
Main Authors:	Earnest, Jennifer D., Hatch, Melissa R., Hurlocker, Margo C.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England Taylor & Francis 2022 Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects:	Adult Adults Analgesics, Opioid - adverse effects at-risk opioid use Community community adults Epidemics Health care expenditures Health services utilization Health status Help seeking behavior Humans Motivation Narcotics opioid use motives Opioid-Related Disorders - epidemiology Opioids Pain Pain - drug therapy Prevention programs Quality of Life Substance use disorder United States United States at-risk opioid use opioid use motives Quality of life community adults
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Summary:	Purpose: The opioid epidemic in the United States has resulted in mass mortality and economic costs exceeding $1 trillion. Poor health-related quality of life is evident among individuals entering treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). Yet, little research has examined the influence of quality of life on risky opioid use among non-treatment-seeking adults. To help inform OUD prevention efforts, this study examined the association among quality of life domains, opioid use motives, and risky opioid behaviors in a community sample of opioid users. Methods: Participants (N = 278) were adults who endorsed past month opioid use and were not currently in treatment for OUD. Participants responded to questions regarding their opioid use and misuse, opioid use motives, opioid use consequences, and quality of life. Results: The physical health domain of quality of life was associated with risky opioid use. Specifically, poorer physical health predicted risky opioid use and this relationship was partially explained by more social and pain motives to use opioids. Surprisingly, no other quality of life domains predicted risky opioid use. Conclusion: This study represents a meaningful first step in identifying optimal targets for OUD prevention efforts with community samples. Our findings suggest that physical health is an important quality of life indicator to prevent opioid-related harm and development of OUD.
Bibliography:	All authors contribute to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Dr. Margo Hurlocker. The first draft of the manuscript was jointly written by Jennifer Earnest and Melissa Hatch, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Author contributions
ISSN:	1082-6084 1532-2491
DOI:	10.1080/10826084.2022.2136497