According to information from a reflective sample, roughly three-fourths of adults in the United States who report consuming buprenorphine in 2019 did not misrepresent their treatment. The number of individuals receiving buprenorphine treatment increased from 2015 to 2019, despite a decline in buprenorphine misuse.

The consumption of opioids has been there for a long and among a particular type of people who like to go for such experiments. However, the government has tried to raise awareness about the use of the same and spread knowledge among users, which has resulted in a reduction of consumption of this substance.

2015 – 2019, Number Of U.S. Adults With Opioid Use Disorder Who Misused Buprenorphine Decreased

The latest research has shown data that indicate a continuous reduction of this element in different users from different age groups and areas that show the result of efforts taken by the government.

Several National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientists collaborated on the study, published today in JAMA Network Open.

The FDA has approved buprenorphine for treating opioid use disorders and relieving severe pain. Activating partly opioid parts of the brain, buprenorphine can greatly alleviate Opioid Hunger pangs, withdrawal symptoms, and addiction in general when used as a whole.

Ninety-three thousand Americans will die from a drug overdose in 2020, and 75% will be opioid-related. The stigma associated with opioid use disorders and barriers to obtaining these medications led to less than 18% of people with a past-year opioid addiction receiving medications. Health professionals may only prescribe buprenorphine in opioid treatment programs that have been approved by the federal government or through a letter of intent submitted to the government. At any given time, doctors can treat a maximum of three patients. The use of buprenorphine for treating opioid use disorder is limited to a small number of clinicians, and fewer still prescribe it.

Providing life-saving medications to people with opioid use disorders is an important part of giving quality medical care, said Nora D. Volkow, M.D., NIDA Director: “This research is additional proof that notwithstanding the residual stigmatization and discrimination that persist for substance abuse patients and prescription drugs used to effectively treat, and increased access to following a series, including such buprenorphine therapeutic interventions is required.”

 Patients who misuse medications do so by taking them contrary to a physician’s recommendation; this can include taking their own prescription in overdose amounts, more frequently, or longer than prescribed.

Researchers studied data from the 2015-2019 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health to better understand buprenorphine use and misuse. Annually, SAMHS conducts the National Survey of Drug Use and Health. Moreover, it presents information from the national survey on opioid addiction, misuse, and impairment of opioid use, as well as inspiration for the most recent survey on misuse of opioids among civil populations in a community sample.

According to the researchers, nearly three-quarters of United States adults who were reported using buprenorphine in 2019 did not inappropriately use it within the last 12 months. The usage of buprenorphine in the past year was estimated at 1.7 million, compared with around 700,000 reports of misusing it. Additionally, despite recent increases in the number of patients receiving buprenorphine treatment, the proportion of people with opioid use disorders who misused the substance declined over the study period.

Furthermore, the study found that individuals who grew up in rural areas or who did not receive drug abuse treatment were much more likely to use the treatment. Buprenorphine overuse was unaffected by any other factors, including race or poverty. In a bid to combat the growing opiate epidemic, the report recommended increasing both access to and the value of buprenorphine for opioid-dependent patients.