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Association Between Prescription Pain Medication Use and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in US Adults: A Cross-Sectional

Moses C Odoeke1, Osatohanmwen Irorere2, Oluwatobiloba Omotunde3

  • 1Internal Medicine, University of Toledo, Toledo, USA.

Cureus
|June 17, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Adults using prescription pain medication have a higher cardiovascular risk burden. This highlights the need for integrated risk assessment in patients receiving pain relievers.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Public Health
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of death in the US, linked to modifiable factors like hypertension, diabetes, obesity, dyslipidemia, and smoking.
  • Prescription pain medication use is prevalent among those with chronic conditions, but its impact on cardiovascular risk is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between prescription pain medication use and cardiovascular risk burden in US adults.
  • To identify factors associated with increased cardiovascular risk in this population.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017-2020 data.
  • Inclusion of adults aged 18 and older, analyzing prescription pain medication use as the exposure.
  • Utilizing survey-weighted logistic regression to assess the link between pain medication use and high cardiovascular risk, controlling for demographic and socioeconomic variables.

Main Results:

  • Prescription pain medication use was significantly associated with higher odds of a high cardiovascular risk factor burden (aOR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.15-2.07).
  • Increasing age (aOR, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01-1.03) and physical activity (aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.39-0.74) were also associated with cardiovascular risk.
  • Higher income-to-poverty ratio showed an association with lower odds of high cardiovascular risk (aOR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.85-0.99).

Conclusions:

  • Prescription pain medication use is linked to an elevated cardiovascular risk factor burden among US adults.
  • These findings underscore the importance of incorporating cardiovascular risk assessments for individuals prescribed pain medications.
  • Further research may explore mechanisms linking pain medication use to cardiovascular risk.

Keywords:
cardiovascular risknhanesopioid usepain medicationrisk factorsunited states

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