Objectives Most US studies of national trends in medical and nonmedical use of prescription opioids have focused on adults. Given this gap in understanding these trends among adolescents, we examine national trends in the medical and nonmedical use of prescription opioids among high school seniors between 1976 and 2015. Methods The data used for the study comes from the Monitoring the Future study of adolescents. Forty cohorts of nationally representative samples of high school seniors (modal age 18) were used to examine self-reported medical and nonmedical use of prescription opioids. Results Lifetime prevalence of medical use of prescription opioids peaked in both 1989 and in 2002, and remained stable until a recent decline from 2013 through 2015. Lifetime nonmedical use of prescription opioids was less prevalent and highly correlated with medical use of prescription opioids over this forty-year period. Adolescents who reported both medical and nonmedical use of prescription opioids tended to be more likely to indicate medical use of prescription opioids prior to initiating nonmedical use. Conclusions Prescription opioid exposure is common among US adolescents: long-term trends indicate that one-fourth of high school seniors self-reported medical or nonmedical use of prescription opioids. Medical and nonmedical use of prescription opioids has declined recently and remained highly correlated over the past four decades. Sociodemographic differences and risky patterns involving medical and nonmedical use of prescription opioids should be taken into consideration in clinical practice to improve opioid analgesic prescribing and reduce adverse consequences associated with prescription opioid use among adolescents.

Background: This longitudinal study assesses characteristics associated with adolescents’ nonmedical use of prescription opioids (NMUPO) including: frequency, co-ingestion, motives, specific opioid type; sequence of initiation of medical use of prescription opioids and NMUPO in relationship to subsequent substance use disorder (SUD) symptoms. Methods: Twenty-one independent national cohorts of U.S. high school seniors (n = 8,373) were surveyed and followed 17 years from adolescence to age 35. Results: The majority of adolescents who engaged in NMUPO reported occasional/frequent NMUPO, non-pain relief motives for NMUPO, simultaneous co-ingestion involving NMUPO and other drugs, opioid analgesics with high misuse potential, and multiple types of opioid analgesics. Adolescents who reported NMUPO for pain relief, NMUPO involving opioid analgesics with high misuse potential, or multiple prescription opioids had significantly greater odds of symptoms of SUD symptoms at age 35, relative to those who had no history of NMUPO during adolescence. In addition, medical use of prescription opioids after initiating NMUPO (or NMUPO only) during adolescence was associated with significantly greater odds of subsequent SUD symptoms at age 35 relative to those who reported the medical use of prescription opioids only or had no medical use or NMUPO during adolescence. Conclusions: This is the first U.S. national prospective study to examine the relationships between adolescents’ NMUPO characteristics and later SUD symptoms in early midlife. Several characteristics (frequency, co-ingestion, motives, opioid type, and medical/NMUPO initiation history) were identified that could be used to screen and detect high-risk youth for indicated interventions to reduce prescription opioid misuse and SUDs.

To date, no studies have examined the probability of cigarette smoking and other substance use behaviors as a function of age at onset of e-cigarette use. In the present study, early onset of e-cigarette use was significantly associated with increased odds of cigarette smoking and other substance use behaviors. The findings reinforce the importance of addressing a wide range of substances including alcohol, traditional cigarettes, and marijuana when developing early primary prevention efforts to reduce e-cigarette use among youth.

Objective: To assess the relationships between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and comorbid Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) substance use and mental health disorders across 5 sexual orientation subgroups: lesbian/ gay, bisexual, unsure, discordant heterosexual (ie, heterosexualidentified with same-sex attraction or behavior), and concordant heterosexual. Methods: Data were from the 2012−2013 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III, a cross-sectional, nationally representative survey of non-institutionalized US adults. Data were collected in households via structured diagnostic faceto-face interviews; the overall response rate was 60.1%. The sample included 36,309 US adults aged 18 years and older. Results: Sexual minorities (gay, lesbian, bisexual), especially bisexual women, reported the highest prevalence of ACEs and comorbid substance use and mental health disorders.Approximately 43.8% of bisexual women reported 4 or more ACEs, and 38.0% of bisexual women reported comorbid substance use and mental health disorders. Multivariable regression analyses indicated a curvilinear relationship between ACEs and comorbid substance use and mental health disorders, and sexual minorities consistently had a higher ACE mean than concordant heterosexual respondents. The majority of sexual minorities with high levels of ACEs had comorbid substance use and mental health disorders. Conclusions: Sexual minorities are exposed to more ACEs than their heterosexual counterparts in the US. We found evidence that US sexual minorities are at higher risk of comorbid substance use and mental health disorders. These findings reinforce the importance of identifying exposure to ACEs and developing trauma-informed interventions to treat comorbidities in those exposed to multiple ACEs, especially sexual minorities.