Investigating extra-medical opioid use and social networks among people with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Introduction: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and extra-medical opioid Use (EMOU) frequently co-occur. Few studies have examined the relationship between EMOU and social networks among people with PTSD. Accordingly, this study examined social networks in a sample of people with PTSD in the United States by assessing the association between social network size/diversity and lifetime EMOU status. Methods: Data came from a cross-sectional, nationally representative sample of adults who participated in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (NESARC-III) from 2012 to 2013. For people with past-year PTSD (unweighted Results: Between 2012-2013, 24% of people with PTSD had lifetime EMOU. Those with EMOU had a lower social network size and diversity than individuals without EMOU (14 vs. 17 persons, 4 vs. 5 groups, p-values < 0.05). In adjusted models, EMOU was significantly associated with social network diversity (AOR = 0.91; 95% CI: 0.82, 0.99), but not with social network size (AOR = 1.00; 95% CI: 0.98, 1.01). Conclusions: Less diverse social networks were associated with lifetime EMOU among people with PTSD. Future research should examine associations between the quality of social networks and EMOU, ideally from longitudinal studies.