Opioids Linked With Deaths Other Than Overdoses, Study Says

Pills of the painkiller hydrocodone at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt., on Feb. 19, 2013. From data between 2000 and 2014, CDC says rising drug and alcohol overdoses, suicides, and disease from chronic alcoholism—labeled "deaths of despair" by one expert—are cutting the lives of white Americans short by nearly a half a year on average. AP Photo/Toby Talbot

CHICAGO—Accidental overdoses aren’t the only deadly risk from using powerful prescription painkillers—the drugs may also contribute to heart-related deaths and other fatalities, new research suggests.

Among more than 45,000 patients in the study, those using opioid painkillers had a 64 percent higher risk of dying within six months of starting treatment compared to patients taking other prescription pain medicine. Unintentional overdoses accounted for about 18 percent of the deaths among opioid users, versus 8 percent of the other patients.

“As bad as people think the problem of opioid use is, it’s probably worse,” said Wayne Ray, the lead author and a health policy professor at Vanderbilt University’s medical school. “They should be a last resort and particular care should be exercised for patients who are at cardiovascular risk.”

As bad as people think the problem of opioid use is, it's probably worse.

— Wayne Ray, author and health policy professor, Vanderbilt University