@article{ref1,
title="Association of rheumatoid arthritis with opioid pain medication overuse among persons exposed to the 9/11 World Trade Center Disaster",
journal="International journal of environmental research and public health",
year="2023",
author="Dhanya, Ananya Sarker and Yung, Janette and Cone, James E. and Li, Jiehui",
volume="20",
number="5",
pages="e4166-e4166",
abstract="We examined the association of post-9/11 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) diagnosis with opioid pain medication overuse among enrollees in the World Trade Center Health Registry (WTCHR). Opioid overuse was defined as the self-reported intake of prescribed opioids at a higher dosage or more often than directed in the last 12 months on one of the two most recent WTCHR surveys (2015-2016, 2020-2021). Post-9/11 RA was ascertained through self-reports and subsequently validated following medical record release by the enrollees' physicians or medical records review. We excluded those with self-reported RA that was not validated by their physicians and those who did not report being prescribed opioid pain medication in the last 12 months. Multivariable log-binomial regression was conducted to examine the relationship between post-9/11 RA diagnosis and opioid pain medication overuse, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and 9/11-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Of the 10,196 study enrollees, 46 had confirmed post-9/11 RA. The post-9/11 RA patients were mostly females (69.6% vs. 37.7%), less frequently non-Hispanic White (58.7% vs. 73.2%) individuals, and less often had attained a higher level of education (76.1% vs. 84.4%) compared to those without post-9/11 RA. Opioid pain medication overuse was significantly associated with a post-9/11 RA diagnosis (Adjusted Risk Ratio: 2.13, 95% CI: 1.44-3.17). More research is needed to better understand the use and management of prescribed opioids among WTC-exposed individuals with RA.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1661-7827",
doi="10.3390/ijerph20054166",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20054166"
}