Nonmedical use of opioid analgesics among Ontario students

Bruna Brands; Angela Paglia-Boak; Beth A. Sproule; Karen Leslie; Edward M. Adlaf

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Table 1.

Past-year prevalence of nonmedical and medical use of prescription opioid analgesics by sex among Ontario students in grades 7 to 12 in 2007: Percentages are weighted estimates.

SEX	UNWEIGHTED N	NONMEDICAL OPIOID USE ONLY, % (95% CI)	BOTH NONMEDICAL AND MEDICAL OPIOID USE, % (95% CI)	MEDICAL OPIOID USE ONLY, % (95% CI)	NO USE, % (95% CI)
Male	1439	5.8 (4.5–7.3)	12.0 (10.0–14.2)^*	23.9 (21.4–26.6)	58.4 (55.3–61.5)^*
Female	1475	6.7 (5.3–8.5)	16.6 (14.1–19.6)^*	26.9 (24.5–29.5)	49.7 (46.8–52.6)^*
Total	2914	6.2 (5.3–7.3)	14.4 (12.6–15.9)	25.2 (23.5–27.2)	54.2 (52.2–56.4)

CI—confidence interval.
↵* Significant percentage differences between male and female students, χ² P = .001.

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Table 2.
Sources of diverted prescription pain medication among Ontario students in grades 7 to 12 who used opioids nonmedically in the past year: N = 624.
SOURCE %
From home 72.4
From a friend 6.0
From someone I know 2.9
From the “street” < 0.5
Other sources not listed 8.8
Do not remember 9.7

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Table 3.

Past-year prevalence of alcohol and illicit drug use among Ontario students in grades 7 to 12: Nonmedical users of opioid analgesics versus nonusers; N = 2914.

SUBSTANCE	NONMEDICAL USERS OPIOID ANALGESICS, N = 624, % (95% CI)	NONUSERS, N = 2290, % (95% CI)	DESIGN-BASED χ² PVALUE
Alcohol	75.8 (70.8–80.2)	57.2 (54.3–60.0)	< .001
Daily smoking	9.7 (7.1–13.1)	3.5 (2.7–4.5)	< .001
Cannabis	38.1 (33.6–42.9)	23.0 (20.5–25.7)	< .001
Inhalants^{^*}	13.6 (10.4–17.7)	4.5 (3.5–5.8)	< .001
Hallucinogens^†	17.2 (13.7–21.3)	4.8 (3.8–6.1)	< .001
Cocaine or crack	10.0 (7.3–13.5)	2.1 (1.6–2.8)	< .001
Heroin	2.4 (1.2–4.8)	0.5 (0.3–1.0)	.001
Nonmedical use of OxyContin	6.8 (4.6–9.8)	0.5 (0.3–1.0)	< .001
Nonmedical use of sedatives or tranquilizers^‡	5.1 (3.3–7.8)	< 0.5	< .001
Nonmedical use of stimulants^§	15.2 (12.1–19.0)	3.5 (2.8–4.4)	< .001
Nonmedical use of ADHD drugs^\|\|	2.2 (1.3–3.6)	0.7 (0.4–1.4)	.008
Medical opioid analgesic	69.5 (64.5–74.0)	31.8 (29.7–34.0)	< .001

ADHD—attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, CI—confidence interval.
↵* Inhalants include glue and other solvents.
↵† Hallucinogens include LSD, PCP, mescaline, psilocybin, and ecstasy.
↵‡ Tranquilizers include Valium and Ativan.
↵§ Stimulants include diet pills and stay-awake pills.
↵|| ADHD drugs include any drug usually prescribed for ADHD, such as Ritalin, Concerta, or Adderall.

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Table 4.

Nonmedical use of opioid analgesics by male and female students, according to grade and other past-year substance use: Owing to list-wise deletion, the sample size for the regressions totaled 2868.

CHARACTERISTICS	MALE STUDENTS, N = 1410, ADJUSTED OR (95% CI)	FEMALE STUDENTS, N = 1458, ADJUSTED OR (95% CI)
Grade (age, y)
• 7 (12)	1.00 (reference)	1.00 (reference)
• 8 (13)	1.91 (0.94–3.90)	2.32^{^*} (1.11–4.86)
• 9 (14)	1.62 (0.81–3.23)	2.34^{^*} (1.12–4.91)
• 10 (15)	1.25 (0.60–2.58)	1.68 (0.75–3.76)
• 11 (16)	1.13 (0.57–2.25)	1.65 (0.78–3.46)
• 12 (17)	1.27 (0.56–2.87)	1.05 (0.50–2.22)
Alcohol use	1.91^† (1.16–3.17)	1.54^{^*} (1.01–2.35)
Daily smoking	1.52 (0.81–2.86)	1.64^{^*} (1.04–2.58)
Illicit drug use^‡	1.57^† (1.10–2.24)	2.44^† (1.69–3.52)
Medical opioid analgesic use	4.35^† (3.03–6.25)	4.03^† (2.79–5.83)

CI—confidence interval, OR—odds ratio.
↵* P < .05.
↵† P < .01.
↵‡ Illicit drug use includes any 1 of the following: cannabis, inhalants, LSD, PCP, mescaline, psilocybin, cocaine, crack, heroin, nonmedical use of OxyContin, nonmedical use of sedatives, nonmedical use of stimulants, and nonmedical use of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder drugs.