Patients with at least mild anxiety and depression symptoms are at increased risk of becoming nonadherent to antihypertensive medication. Screening for depression and anxiety symptoms could be used to identify high-risk patients. Further evidence is needed to elucidate whether interventions targeting these conditions improve adherence.

The treatment of chronic pain with opioids remains controversial. Physicians are concerned about addiction and drug diversion, and there is limited empirical information on using opioids with chronic pain patients. This report presents data collected on the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) in a sample of patients (n=908) receiving opioids from their primary care physicians. The ASI provides clinically important information about patients receiving opioid therapy. The ASI consists of seven subscales including medical, alcohol, drug, employment/support, legal, family/social, and psychiatric domains. Clinically relevant findings include a high ASI medical score (0.87), high psychiatric severity score (0.27), lifetime treatment of alcohol problems (reported by 22% of males), 5.6% prior delirium tremens, 10.1% prior treatment for drug problems, 12.1% prior drug overdose, 28% drunk driving citations; 40.3% of females had serious suicidal thoughts, and 23.8% suicide attempts. The ASI provides important information that can help primary care physicians manage chronic pain patients receiving opioid therapy.