Differences in Prescription Drug Misuse Among U.S. Adults With and Without Disabilities

Increasing evidence suggests that adults with disabilities have higher rates of drug misuse than adults without disabilities; however, there is limited information on rates of commonly misused prescription drugs (e.g., stimulants, opioids, tranquilizers) to quantify the magnitude of this disparity. Thus, the purpose of this cross-sectional study is to examine and compare the prevalence rates of prescription drug misuse by disability status and age group in a national sample of U.S. adults.

Data (n=47,100 adults) from the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health were stratified by age group: (1) 18-29 years, (2) 30-49 years, (3) 50-64 years, and (4) ≥65 years. Disability status, defined as difficulties with vision, hearing, ambulation, cognition, self-care, or communication, and misuse of prescription drugs were treated as dichotomous variables. Rao-Scott chi-square tests examined differences in misuse between individuals with and without disabilities, by age group, and logistic regression models estimated the OR for past-year misuse among individuals with disabilities compared with that among same-age peers without disabilities.

Adults with disabilities in the age groups of 18-29 and 30-49 years had twice the odds of misusing stimulants, tranquilizers, and pain relievers as adults without disabilities. Adults with disabilities in both the age groups of 50-64 and ≥65 years had over twice the odds of misusing pain relievers as adults without disabilities; however, there were no significant differences in stimulant or tranquilizer misuse.

Given the disparity in prescription drug misuse in adults with disabilities across all age groups and prescription drug categories, further research should focus on prevention and treatment of misuse in this population.