ArticleSubstance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy2017
Physical pain is common and associated with nonmedical prescription opioid use among people who inject drugs.
Article in Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Self-reported cannabis use to manage opioid withdrawal symptoms and reductions in opioid use among people who use unregulated opioids: a cross-sectional analysis.Journal of cannabis research · 2026Article
- Pain is associated with reduced adherence to safer injection practices among people who inject opioids.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- Substance use frequency and associations with chronic pain among a cohort of people who inject drugs in Montreal, Canada.Canadian journal of pain = Revue canadienne de la douleur · 2026Article
- Opiophobia: Misinformation, Misconceptions, Misrepresentations, Perspectives, and Consequences.ACS pharmacology & translational science · 2025Review
- Risk Factors for Infective Endocarditis and Serious Injection Related Infections Among People Who Inject Drugs in Los Angeles, CA and Denver, CO.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2025Article
- Phenotyping people with a history of injecting drug use within electronic medical records using an interactive machine learning approach.NPJ digital medicine · 2024Article
- A scoping review of psychiatric conditions associated with chronic pain in the homeless and marginally housed population.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Association Between Prescription Opioid Therapy for Noncancer Pain and Hepatitis C Virus Seroconversion.JAMA network open · 2022Article
- Healthcare stigma and HIV risk among rural people who inject drugs.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2021Article
- Review
- "It's Helped Me a Lot, Just Like to Stay Alive": a Qualitative Analysis of Outcomes of a Novel Hydromorphone Tablet Distribution Program in Vancouver, Canada.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2021Article
- Factors Associated with Gabapentin Misuse among People Who Inject Drugs in Appalachian Kentucky.Substance use & misuse · 2020Article
- Frequency of cannabis and illicit opioid use among people who use drugs and report chronic pain: A longitudinal analysis.PLoS medicine · 2019Observational
- Characterising the association between positive hepatitis C virus antibody and pain among people who inject drugs.Drug and alcohol review · 2019Article
- Estimating the prevalence and correlates of pain among people living with HIV who use unregulated drugs in a Canadian setting.Journal of opioid managementArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPeople who inject drugs (PWID) often have poor health and lack access to health care. The aim of this study was to examine whether PWID engage in self-treatment through nonmedical prescription opioid use (NMPOU). We describe the prevalence and features of self-reported physical pain and its association with NMPOU.
methodsPWID (N = 702) in San Francisco, California (age 18+) were recruited to complete interviewer administered surveys between 2011 and 2013. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the associations among self-reported pain dimensions (past 24-h average pain, pain interference with functional domains) and NMPOU, controlling for age, sex, psychiatric illness, opioid substitution treatment, homelessness, street heroin use and unmet healthcare needs.
resultsAlmost half of the sample reported pain, based on self-reported measures in the 24 h before their interview. The most common pain locations were to their back and lower extremities. Past 24-h NMPOU was common (14.7%) and associated with past 24 h average pain intensity on a 10 point self-rating scale (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.21-3.80), and past 24 h pain interference with general activity (AOR 1.82 [95% CI 1.04-3.21]), walking ability (AOR 2.52 [95% CI 1.37-4.63]), physical ability (AOR 2.01 [95% CI 1.16-3.45]), sleep (AOR 1.98 [95% CI 1.13-3.48]) and enjoyment of life (AOR 1.79 [95% CI 1.02-3.15]).
conclusionBoth pain and NMPOU are common among PWID, and highly correlated in this study. These findings suggest that greater efforts are needed to direct preventive health and services toward this population.
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Registered trials
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