Story at a glance
- Buprenorphine is a drug commonly prescribed to patients with opioid use disorder.
- Although a longer duration of treatment is associated with better outcomes, data show racial and ethnic minority patients are less likely to take the drug for the recommended amount of time compared with white patients.
- In recent years, the rate of drug overdose deaths has increased in racial and ethnic minorities.
Black and Hispanic patients with opioid use disorder complete shorter durations of buprenorphine treatment compared with white patients, while the disparity has widened in recent years, according to results of a new study.
Findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry and underscore racial disparities in care for the condition. The analysis included over 11 million prescriptions filled between 2006 and 2020.
Although treatment duration among white patients increased beginning in 2017, in 2014 it consistently decreased among Black patients. In 2009, it began decreasing among Hispanic patients.
America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.
Longer duration of buprenorphine treatment is associated with better clinical outcomes, and it’s recommended that patients take the drug for at least 180 days.
Median treatment length was 50 days among all patients. That total rose to 53 days for white patients but declined to 44 days for Black patients and 35 days for Hispanic patients.
Buprenorphine can decrease overdose risk, reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms, and is generally well-tolerated. However, the treatment’s efficacy hinges on whether it is given at a sufficient dose and for a long enough time.
A total of 240,923 patients were included in the random sample, the majority of whom were white. Around eight percent were Black and six percent were Hispanic. Previous research has shown white patients are more likely to be prescribed the drug.
Results could point to disproportionate structural barriers faced by racial and ethnic minorities when it comes to continuing treatment for opioid use disorder. Inequities in “access to education, employment, and medical care, could affect substance use treatment initiation, engagement, and outcomes,” authors wrote.
Recent data has detailed an increase in drug overdose mortality among racial and ethnic minorities. According to the CDC, overdose death rates rose by 44 percent among non-Hispanic Black individuals and by 39 percent among non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Natives between 2019 and 2020. In comparison, the death rate rose by 22 percent in white individuals during that time.
Black males aged 65 and older are nearly seven times as likely as white males in the same age group to die from an overdose.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
