Unhealthy Opioid Use and COVID-19 Mortality Incidence in Older Adults: A Multicenter Research Network Study

Abstract

Background

Opioid use has the potential to influence infectious respiratory diseases. The purpose of this research is to examine if there is an association of deaths from the respiratory infection, COVID-19, and unhealthy opioid use in older adults.

Methods

Data about patients, ages ≥65 years, who had a COVID-19 infection between 1/20/2020 to 12/23/2020 (n = 533,153) were extracted using the TriNetX system. Mortality incidence between initial diagnosis and ninety days after contracting COVID-19 were determined. Comparisons were made between people with and without unhealthy opioid use.

Results

There were 7,547 COVID-19 patients with unhealthy opioid use (mean age, 71.8 years; standard deviation 6.3 years) and 525,606 COVID-19 patients (mean age, 74.1 years; standard deviation 7.3 years) without unhealthy opioid use. Of the total, 15,852 (3.0%) died within 3 months of COVID-19 diagnosis. The unadjusted risk ratio of the cohort with unhealthy opioid use compared with the cohort that did not have unhealthy opioid uses was 1.18 (95% CI: 1.05,1.33); p = 0.0069. The relationship failed to remain significant in analysis with propensity score matching (risk ratio = 0.96; 95% CI: 0.82, 1.14; p = 0.6606, ns).

Conclusion

The public health implication is that although older adults are more vulnerable to COVID-19 than younger adults, a difference between older adults with or without unhealthy opioid use did not increase vulnerability to death from COVID-19 and should be not be considered if rationing of care becomes necessary.

Keywords:

• Opioid use
• COVID-19
• SARS-COV-2
• older adults
• mortality

Acknowledgements

Research reported in this manuscript was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award BLINDED NUMBER. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Declaration of interest

The author reports no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number 5U54GM104942-04. The content is solely the responsibility of the author and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.