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Two men sitting side by side on a seaside boardwalk, looking into the distance with a beach and pier structure in the background.

Central nervous system

Opioid use disorder

High burden on individuals and society

Opioid use disorder is a serious, chronic, relapsing disease that impacts all aspects of a person’s daily life, and have significant impact on their family, friends, and society.1 Opioids is considered to cause the greatest societal burden of all drugs.2,3

Disease overview

Opioid use disorder – an escalating global health problem

Opioid use disorder, sometime referred to as opioid addiction or opioid dependence, is an escalating global health problem, contributing to significant adverse mental, physical, and social consequences, including unemployment, criminal activity, imprisonment, transmission of infectious diseases, unintentional overdose and death.1 An estimated 60 million people globally use opioids for non-medical purposes.4

In the US, the ongoing overdose crisis, including increased fentanyl use, results in around 80,000 opioid-related deaths annually.5 An estimated 6-7 million people in the US are misusing opioids, of which about 3 million are diagnosed with opioid use disorder and only about half receive medical treatment for their dependency.6-8

A medical condition with high social stigma

Opioid use disorder can happen to anyone – often there is not just one driving factor. This chronic condition, which can arise from repeated use of opioids, affects the brain leading to the person feeling a strong need for opioids despite being aware of the harm they cause. Opioid use disorder is often associated with high social stigma and social exclusion.9,10

Principles of opioid use disorder treatment

Like other chronic conditions, opioid used disorder often requires long-term treatment and treatment may consist of a combination of pharmacological and psychological interventions.

References 

  1. Strang J., et al. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2020 Jan 9;6(1):3.
  2. European Drug Report 2024.
  3. Cohen, SP., et al. 2021;397(10289):2082-97.
  4. https://www.unodc.org/res/WDR-2023/Special_Points_WDR2023_web_DP.pdf 
  5. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/drug-overdose-data.htm 
  6. Keyes KM, et al. What is the prevalence of and trend in opioid use disorder in the United States from 2010 to 2019? Using multiplier approaches to estimate prevalence for an unknown population size. Drug Alc. Dep. Reports 2022.
  7. CDC, Opioid Use Disorder: https://www.cdc.gov/dotw/opioid-use-disorder 
  8. Symphony Health Data.
  9. https://www.cdc.gov/stopoverdose/stigma/ 
  10. Dematteis M., et al. Expert Opin Pharmacother. 2017 Dec;18(18) :1987-1999.

  • 6-7
    million

    people in the US are misusing opioids6-8

  • 80,000

    reported opioid-related deaths in the US annually5

Symptoms

In addition to cravings, withdrawals and drug seeking behavior, physical symptoms of opioid use disorder may include changes in sleep habits, weight loss and decreased libido.

Diagnosis

An opioid use disorder diagnosis may be made by a doctor following a formal assessment based on the patient’s history and pattern of opioid use, such as use of heroin, other illicit opioids or prescription opioids.

Management

Treatment and management of opioid dependence need to be individualized and may consist of a combination of different pharmacological and psychological interventions.