Oh Sehun, Cano Manuel
College of Social Work, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
School of Social Work, Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Subst Use Misuse. 2025;60(1):137-141. doi: 10.1080/10826084.2024.2403119. Epub 2024 Sep 12.
Illicitly manufactured fentanyl (IMF) has emerged as a catalyst of the recent drug epidemic in the United States. To devise more targeted and effective prevention and treatment strategies, it is crucial to understand the demographics of the population who consumes IMF and their health and associated substance use risks. Therefore, this study explores the sociodemographic characteristics, health diagnoses, and drug injection practices of individuals reporting IMF use.
Data were derived from the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use Health, based on a nationally representative sample of non-institutionalized individuals aged 12 and older in the United States. Focusing on 306 adults who reported ever using IMF, we examined their sociodemographic characteristics, health diagnoses, and substance-related behaviors in comparison to adults with a drug use disorder who did not report IMF use, using logistic regression analyses.
The majority of U.S. adults reporting IMF use were aged 35-64, male, non-Hispanic White, with a high school education or lower, never married, and had an annual household income below $40,000. Compared to adults with a drug use disorder who did not report IMF use, they were more likely to report heart conditions (AOR = 2.67, 95% CI = 1.29-5.54) and Hepatitis B or C (AOR = 8.35, 95% CI = 4.05-17.02). Nearly half of this group had an opioid use disorder (OUD) in the past year, and 65.7% (95% CI = 56.7-74.8) reported a history of injecting drugs.
To effectively curb the current drug epidemic, incorporating effective treatment for OUD and harm reduction strategies is crucial.
非法制造的芬太尼（IMF）已成为美国近期药物流行的一个催化剂。为了制定更具针对性和有效的预防与治疗策略，了解使用IMF的人群的人口统计学特征、健康状况以及相关物质使用风险至关重要。因此，本研究探讨了报告使用过IMF的个体的社会人口学特征、健康诊断情况及药物注射行为。
数据来自2022年全国药物使用和健康调查，基于美国12岁及以上非机构化个体的全国代表性样本。聚焦于306名报告曾使用过IMF的成年人，我们通过逻辑回归分析，将他们的社会人口学特征、健康诊断情况及与物质相关的行为与未报告使用IMF的有药物使用障碍的成年人进行了比较。
报告使用IMF的美国成年人大多年龄在35 - 64岁之间，男性，非西班牙裔白人，高中及以下学历，未婚，家庭年收入低于4万美元。与未报告使用IMF的有药物使用障碍的成年人相比，他们更有可能报告患有心脏病（调整后比值比[AOR]=2.67，95%置信区间[CI]=1.29 - 5.54）和乙肝或丙肝（AOR = 8.35，95% CI = 4.05 - 17.02）。在过去一年中，这组人群近一半患有阿片类药物使用障碍（OUD），65.7%（95% CI = 56.7 - 74.8）报告有注射吸毒史。
为有效遏制当前的药物流行，纳入针对OUD的有效治疗和减少伤害策略至关重要。
