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<\/p>\nSeptember 01, 2026<\/p>\n
2 min read<\/p>\n
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We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact customerservice@slackinc.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n Back to Healio<\/p>\n Key takeaways:Four percent of a cohort of patients with rheumatic and autoimmune conditions were reported to have opioid use disorder.Fewer than 15% of patients with opioid use disorder received treatment for that disorder.<\/p>\n Although opioid use disorder<\/a> is \u201crelatively common\u201d in rheumatology settings, fewer than 15% of patients with this disorder and rheumatic disease receive medications to treat it, according to data published in Arthritis Care & Research.<\/p>\n \u201cPatients with rheumatic conditions are prescribed opioids at higher rates<\/a> than the general population, but we know very little about opioid use disorder in this group,\u201d Jacob S. Riegler, MD, MBA, MSBE, a rheumatology fellow in the section of clinical sciences and the division of rheumatology, inflammation and immunity at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital, told Healio. \u201cOpioid use disorder is a pathologic pattern of use that raises the risk for overdose and death. Although medications for opioid use disorder lower mortality, no previous study had examined if patients with rheumatic diseases are receiving them.\u201d<\/p>\n
To examine opioid use disorder and treatment uptake, as well as assess any \u201cpotentially addressable gap in care,\u201d Riegler and colleagues analyzed data from 37,282 patients with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis<\/a>, systemic lupus erythematosus or spondyloarthritis with one or more diagnostic codes for opioid dependence or abuse. Data were sourced from the NIH All of Us Research Program.<\/p>\n Demographic information underwent analysis, as did psychiatric disorders, prescription medications including opioids, corticosteroids and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, comorbidities and acute care use for those with opioid use disorder and those without. Medications for opioid use disorder were defined as prescriptions for methadone, buprenorphine or naltrexone following the first diagnostic code for opioid use disorder.<\/p>\n According to the researchers, 1,502 patients, or 4% of the cohort, demonstrated opioid use disorder. <\/p>\n \u201cThose patients had more psychiatric comorbidities, higher acute care use, higher mortality, more glucocorticoid use and less disease-modifying antirheumatic drug use,\u201d Riegler said. \u201cThey were also more likely to have received prior prescription opioids \u2014 75.7% vs. 45.8% \u2014 and corticosteroids, but less likely to have used biologic, targeted synthetic, or conventional DMARDs.\u201d<\/p>\n Further results showed that 14.5% of patients with rheumatic diseases and opioid use disorder received medications to treat the opioid disorder, compared to estimates of 25% among the general population, according to Riegler..<\/p>\n \u201cRheumatologists should recognize opioid use disorder as a relatively common comorbidity and be trained to discuss or refer for treatment, since starting treatment early is an important step in reducing opioid use disorder-related mortality,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n For more information:<\/p>\n
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