MORGANTOWN, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A new study from West Virginia University finds that adults with disabilities are nearly twice as likely to misuse prescription drugs as those without disabilities, raising concerns about the need for better prevention and intervention strategies.
Jeanette Garcia, associate professor at the WVU College of Applied Human Sciences, led the research and emphasized the urgency of addressing prescription drug misuse in this vulnerable population.
“Almost 10% of the individuals with disabilities in our sample reported misusing prescription drugs within the past year, compared to 4.4% of individuals without disabilities,” Garcia said.
“We saw the highest rates of drug misuse among adults with cognitive disabilities and young adults, and pain relievers were the most misused drug.”
Garcia and her team analyzed data from the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which included responses from 47,100 adults.
Among them, an estimated 10.9% reported having at least one disability, including difficulties with vision, hearing, movement, cognition, self-care, and communication.
The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, examined misuse of prescription stimulants like amphetamines, tranquilizers such as benzodiazepines, and pain relievers like opioids.
“Compared to adults without disabilities, adults with disabilities reported more misuse, and those younger than 30 had the highest rates of misuse across all three drug categories — stimulants, tranquilizers and painkillers,” Garcia said.
“That suggests focusing preventive efforts on young adults or even adolescents with disabilities, since adolescents with disabilities, especially cognitive difficulties, may be particularly vulnerable to prescription drug misuse. The fact that adolescent drug misuse increases the risk of cognitive impairment as a young adult underscores the importance of early prevention.”
According to Garcia, adults with disabilities face multiple risk factors for prescription drug misuse, including chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and poor physical health.
They are more likely to receive prescriptions from doctors but less likely to be counseled on the risks of misuse.
Communication challenges and difficulty finding specialized medical care may also contribute to the problem.
For every drug category examined, misuse was highest among individuals with cognitive and self-care disabilities. The highest rate—27%—was for pain reliever misuse among adults aged 30-49 with cognitive disabilities.
Garcia noted that conditions such as traumatic brain injuries, ADHD, and mental health disorders like anxiety and depression may increase the likelihood of misuse.
Cognitive difficulties, including poor concentration and impaired self-care, are also associated with stimulant misuse.
The study found that while young adults with and without disabilities showed similar trends in stimulant and tranquilizer misuse, a notable discrepancy appeared in pain reliever misuse among older adults.
While misuse rates remained low for those over 65 without disabilities, they rose significantly among older adults with disabilities.
Garcia suggested this may be due to chronic pain worsening with age and higher rates of prescribed pain medication in this group.
“Physicians and policymakers need to be aware of the high rates of prescription drug misuse we’re seeing, especially among adults with cognitive and self-care difficulties,” Garcia said.
“We’ve started to pinpoint some specific disabilities with the highest risks for prescription drug misuse, and an important next step will be exploring the extent to which the severity of someone’s disability or the presence of an additional condition like anxiety affects the likelihood that they’ll misuse uppers, downers or narcotics.”
Garcia emphasized the need for alternative pain treatments and improved medical guidance to help reduce the risks associated with prescription drug misuse among adults with disabilities.
