Risk Of Opioid Overdose Climbs At Middle Age

Imagine you’re in your 50s. You injured your shoulder a while back and it just hasn’t gotten better. You take prescription painkillers — an opioid like OxyContin — to help with the pain. Let’s say you’ve been taking it for a couple of years. Your body has built up a tolerance to the drug, and now, you need to change it up to get the same amount of relief. When it comes to the potential for overdose, says Boston Medical Center epidemiologist Traci Green, this is one of the most dangerous crossroads.

“We often times see that the dose will increase with an individual over time or they might rotate or switch to another medication to experience pain relief. And so, at each rotation or change, there’s a risk [of accidental overdose] because you’re moving from one drug to another,” she says. READ MORE