Older adults living with HIV are prescribed opioids at a higher rate and are more likely to develop opioid use disorder when compared with the general population, according to the results of a recent Rutgers University study published in The Lancet Primary Care .

This study is the first to examine the effects of opioid use disorder specifically in HIV patients ages 65 and older. This population is especially at risk because opioid use disorder has been tied to pneumonia, increased fall risk, cardiovascular disease and virologic failure.

“We found that older adults with HIV were more likely to receive high-risk opioid prescriptions—higher doses, overlapping prescriptions and for longer durations,” Stephanie Shiau, Ph.D., M.P.H., associate professor at the Rutgers School of Public He

See Full Page