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American Public Health Association
133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition
December 10-14, 2005
Philadelphia, PA
APHA 2005
 
4173.0: Tuesday, December 13, 2005 - Board 9

Abstract #113528

Public heath disparities in rural areas: High rates of prescription opioid abuse?

Richard Dart, MD, PhD and Alice Hughes, MSPH. Rocky Mountatin Poison & Drug Center, 777 Bannock St, Mail Code 0180, Denver, CO 80204, 303-739-1229, Alice.Hughes@rmpdc.org

Background: Prescription drug abuse is an emerging important public health concern. Allegedly, rural areas have higher rates of prescription drug abuse. We measured the frequency of intentional exposure calls to 8 poison centers (PC) as indicators of misuse and abuse of prescription opioids. Methods: Intentional exposure calls from 11/03/02 through 9/30/03 that involved fentanyl, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, methadone, morphine, oxycodone (excluding OxyContin®) or OxyContin® alone were defined as cases of misuse or abuse. Data were grouped by three-digit zip code into 11 population categories. Results: A 5 fold difference in call rate was found (*per 100,000 total population of 3 digit zip code, population in thousands).

Population:   100- 200- 300- 400- 500- 600- 700- 800- 900-  
  <100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1,000 >1,000
Call Rate*: 15.25 10.12 7.37 5.56 6.04 8.41 8.71 5.26 9.62 4.51 3.25

ANOVA testing indicates a higher prevalence of intentional exposure calls from lower population areas (p<0.01). Calls involving hydrocodone were most common; fentanyl and hydromorphone were least common. Similar trends in call rates by population area were present for all 7 opioids studied and will be presented. The call rate was greater from low population areas despite lower overall call penetration in these areas. Conclusion: Among several possible reasons for increased PC call rates are higher incidence of prescription drug use/misuse per capita, lack of local medical resources, or increased willingness to call PC in rural areas. Poison centers offer another perspective on rural health disparities.

Learning Objectives:

Keywords: Rural Populations, Prescription Drug Use Patterns

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Patterns of Substance Use Among Adults Poster Session

The 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition (December 10-14, 2005) of APHA