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Prescription Opioid Use Among Seriously Mentally Ill Veterans Nationally in the Veterans Health Administration

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Abstract

Frequent prescription opioid use has been recognized as a growing problem but there have been no studies specifically among veterans with serious mental illness (SMI). National data from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) during Fiscal Year 2012 show that VHA patients with SMI receive more opioid prescriptions than other veterans. Additionally, high numbers of opioid prescriptions is associated with greater use of anxiolytics/sedative-hypnotics, drug dependence and COPD—all of which pose an increased risk of respiratory depression and falls and warrant substantial caution and improved coordination between mental health and non-mental health prescribers to evaluate risk–benefit tradeoffs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Nickie Mathew & Robert A. Rosenheck

  2. VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA

    Nickie Mathew

Authors
  1. Nickie Mathew
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  2. Robert A. Rosenheck
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Correspondence to Nickie Mathew.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Disclaimer The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position or policy of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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Mathew, N., Rosenheck, R.A. Prescription Opioid Use Among Seriously Mentally Ill Veterans Nationally in the Veterans Health Administration. Community Ment Health J 52, 165–173 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-015-9939-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-015-9939-4

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