Survey results from patients on chronic opioid therapy with no history of substance abuse suggest that depressive symptoms among this population appear to be associated with opioid misuse. Patients with moderate and severe depression were 1.8 and 2.4 times more likely, respectively, than non-depressed patients to misuse an opioid medication for non-pain symptoms. When compared with non-depressed patients, those with mild, moderate, and severe depression were 1.9, 2.9, and 3.1 times more likely, respectively, to self-increase their opioid dose.
Abstract: Annals of Family Medicine, July/August 2012.
