An Epidemic in the Midst of a Pandemic: Opioid Use Disorder and COVID-19

Addressing Problems With Alcohol and Other Substances Among Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…For those who use medications as prescribed, interruption of regular medical visits is a barrier to careful monitoring. Among individuals with an opioid use disorder who are engaged in treatment, care disruption may lead to decreased access to methadone, buprenorphine, naloxone treatment for overdose, as well as critical social services (11). Lack of treatment access, in combination with social isolation, increases vulnerability to relapse and overdose for older adults during the pandemic.…”

Substance Use, and Substance Use Disorder, in Relation to COVID-19: Protocol for a Scoping Review

“…People currently in treatment for opioid use disorder may be affected by COVID-19 due to reduced access to medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) [7]. People who receive methadone may face challenges arising from social distancing, as pa-tients usually can only receive a single directly observed daily dose at a time [8], although telemedicine and take home supplies have recently been approved to allow medical providers to start and maintain MOUD [9,10].…”

Addressing Major Health Disparities Related to Coronavirus for People With Behavioral Health Conditions Requires Strength‐Based Capacity Building and Intentional Community Partnership

“…People with serious mental illness (SMI), and those struggling with or who are in recovery from addiction, face greater difficulties securing adequate food, housing, income, social support, and health insurance (Alexander, Stoller, Haffajee, & Saloner, 2020; Becker & Fiellin, 2020; Druss, 2020; Volkow, 2020) and a 20–30 year mortality gap (Colton & Manderscheid, 2006; Olfson, Gerhard, Huang, Crystal, & Stroup, 2015; Ösby, Brandt, Correia, Ekbom, & Sparén, 2001) due to poor access to quality primary care (Aggarwal, Pandurangi, & Smith, 2013; Bradford et al, 2008; Brugha, Wing, & Smith, 1989; Druss, Bradford, Rosenheck, Radford, & Krumholz, 2000; Lord, Malone, & Mitchell, 2010; Nasrallah et al, 2006), metabolic side effects of antipsychotics (Cohn & Sernyak, 2006; Newcomer, 2007; Newcomer & Haupt, 2006), and other social and behavioral factors (Druss, 2007; Parks, Svendsen, Singer, & Foti, 2006; Viron, Zioto, Schweitzer, & Levine, 2014), which increase the risk of medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes (Saha, Chant, & McGrath, 2007; Suetani & Whiteford, 2015). Smoking and vaping are more common among lower‐income communities and people with mental health conditions (Al‐Hamdani, Hopkins, & Park, 2020; Glover, Patwardhan, & Selket, 2020).…”

“…A higher prevalence of chronic conditions like diabetes and obesity among these populations may put them at greater risk of severe complications from COVID‐19 (Crossrow & Falkner, 2004; Hales, Caroll, Fryar, & Ogden, 2017; Spanakis & Golden, 2013; Zhou, Chi, Lv, & Wang, 2020). The coronavirus pandemic is an additional major burden to communities already struggling to stem the ongoing opioid crisis (Alexander et al, 2020; Becker & Fiellin, 2020; Volkow, 2020) as well as other health disparities. Social determinants of health such as greater poverty, food insecurity, and fewer per‐capita social associations (Flores et al, 2020) COVID‐19 further exacerbate racial and income inequalities in opioid mortalities.…”