The risk of drug overdose death among adults with select types of disabilities in the United States - A longitudinal study using nationally representative data

Jonathan Aram; Cher M Dallal; Candace Cosgrove; Amelia Arria; Hongjie Liu; Natalie Slopen

doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2023.107799

The risk of drug overdose death among adults with select types of disabilities in the United States - A longitudinal study using nationally representative data

Prev Med. 2024 Jan:178:107799. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2023.107799. Epub 2023 Dec 7.

Authors

Jonathan Aram¹, Cher M Dallal², Candace Cosgrove³, Amelia Arria⁴, Hongjie Liu⁵, Natalie Slopen⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of Maryland School of Public Health, USA. Electronic address: jaram@umd.edu.
² Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of Maryland School of Public Health, USA. Electronic address: cdallal@umd.edu.
³ U.S. Census Bureau, USA. Electronic address: candace.m.cosgrove@census.gov.
⁴ Department of Behavioral & Community Health, University of Maryland School of Public Health, USA. Electronic address: aarria@umd.edu.
⁵ Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of Maryland School of Public Health, USA. Electronic address: hliu1210@umd.edu.
⁶ Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, USA. Electronic address: nslopen@hsph.harvard.edu.

PMID: 38070712
DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2023.107799

Abstract

Background: Disability is associated with increased risk of drug overdose mortality, but previous studies use coarse and inconsistent methods to identify adults with disabilities. This investigation makes use of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services disability questions to estimate the risk of drug overdose death among U.S. adults using seven established disability categories.

Methods: The longitudinal Mortality Disparities in American Communities study was used to determine disability status among a nationally representative sample of adults age ≥18 in 2008 (n = 3,324,000). Through linkage to the National Death Index, drug overdose deaths were identified through 2019. Adults in mutually-exclusive disability categories (hearing, vision, cognitive, mobility, complex activity, ≥2 limitations) were compared to adults with no reported disabilities using adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and controlling for demographic and socioeconomic covariates.

Results: The risk of drug overdose death varied considerably by disability type, as adults in some disability categories displayed only marginally significant risk, while adults in other disability categories displayed substantially elevated risk. Compared to non-disabled adults, the risk of drug overdose death was highest among adults with ≥2 limitations (aHR = 3.0, 95% CI = 2.8-3.3), cognitive limitation (aHR = 2.6, 95% CI = 2.3-2.9), mobility limitation (aHR = 2.6, 95% CI = 2.3-2.9), complex activity limitation (aHR = 2.3, 95% CI = 1.8-2.9), hearing limitation (aHR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.3-1.9), and vision limitation (aHR = 1.3, 95% CI = 1.0-1.7).

Conclusions: The examination of specific disability categories revealed unique associations that were not apparent in previous research. These findings can be used to focus overdose prevention efforts on the populations at greatest risk for drug-related mortality.

Keywords: Disabled persons; Epidemiology; Mortality; Mortality Disparities in American Communities study; Substance use.

MeSH terms

Adult
Disabled Persons*
Drug Overdose*
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Proportional Hazards Models
United States / epidemiology