The intergenerational persistence of opioid dependence: Evidence from administrative data
Alexander Ahammer1,2, Martin Halla1,2,3,4
1Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria.
Health Economics
|August 15, 2022
Summary
Opioid dependence can persist across generations. Parental opioid use, both illicit and prescription, significantly increases a child's risk of developing opioid dependence, even when accounting for environmental factors.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Sociology
Background:
- The opioid crisis remains a significant public health challenge.
- Understanding the origins and transmission of opioid dependence is critical for effective interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the intergenerational persistence of opioid dependence.
- To quantify the association between parental opioid use and child opioid dependence.
Main Methods:
- Utilized administrative data from all Austrian births between 1984 and 1990.
- Analyzed prescription opioid use and a novel proxy for illicit opioid dependence.
- Controlled for environmental variables to assess the stability of observed associations.
Main Results:
- Parental illicit opioid use increased child opioid use likelihood from 1% to 7%.
- Parental prescription opioid use increased child opioid use likelihood from 3.6% to 6.7%.
- These associations remained robust after controlling for environmental factors.
Conclusions:
- Evidence suggests a strong intergenerational component to opioid dependence.
- Parental opioid use is a significant risk factor for child opioid dependence, independent of environmental influences.
Keywords:
addictiondrug abuseheroinillicit opioidsintergenerational correlationintergenerational transmissionopioidsprescription opioidsMore Related Videos
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