Past-year use of prescription opioids and/or benzodiazepines among adults in the United States: Estimating medical and nonmedical use in 2015–2016

Background: The growing use of prescription opioids and benzodiazepines has become a major health threat in the United States, so it is important to document their use among adults to inform health policies or interventions. Methods: This study included 81,186 adults ages 18 and older from 2015 and 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Participants’ self-reported medical and nonmedical use of prescription opioids and/or benzodiazepines in the past year was assessed along with their demographic characteristics. Results: In 2015–2016, 41.13% of adults reported using prescription opioids and/or benzodiazepines in the past year; 8.24% reported both, 28.59% reported prescription opioids only, and 4.30% reported benzodiazepines only. The majority of adults used the drugs for medical purposes, including 71.35% of participants who reported both drugs in the past year, 90.36% of those who reported prescription opioids only, and 86.24% of those who reported benzodiazepines only. Younger adults ages 18–34 were more likely to use prescription opioids and/or benzodiazepines for nonmedical purposes compared to adults ages 35 and over. Conclusions: In the United States, the proportion of adults who used prescription opioids and/or benzodiazepines in the past year was high; most of them reported using these drugs for medical purposes. Special attention is needed to prevent potentially unnecessary medical co-prescribing of these drugs, particularly among younger adults, who were more likely report nonmedical use of both drugs than older adults.