Millennium Health Signals Alert™ Shows Pandemic-Era Increases in Alcohol Use Persist Among At-Risk Patients
May 21 2024 - 12:01AM
Business Wire
Urine drug testing data reveal alarming,
sustained increases in alcohol use among those with alcohol use
disorder; may push higher as summer peak approaches
Alcohol use increased across the U.S. during the COVID-19
pandemic but a new Millennium Health Signals Alert™ shows that it
increased most dramatically among those with alcohol use disorder
(AUD) and has remained elevated; up more than 20% nationally since
2019. This robust analysis of more than 430,000 urine drug test
(UDT) results also illustrates that alcohol use is being detected
among patients with AUD at over twice the rate of those without
AUD.
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“These findings are eye opening and reveal that the pandemic had
a lasting negative impact on this at-risk group of patients. We’re
calling attention to this problem now because our data also show
that alcohol use tends to increase in the summer,” said Millennium
Health Chief Clinical Officer Angela Huskey, PharmD, CPE. “As the
nation continues to grapple with a devastating drug overdose
crisis, we must remember that excessive alcohol use kills nearly
180,000 Americans each year. That’s more than from fentanyl and all
other drug overdoses combined.”
Millennium Health’s researchers reported increases in alcohol
detection among those with AUD across most of the U.S. The states
with the largest gains were Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky,
Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, New York, and
Utah.
The Alert also examined the relationship between recent alcohol
consumption and the use of other drugs. Compared to patients with
AUD who had not consumed alcohol recently, those who had were
significantly more likely to use cocaine, methamphetamine,
cannabis, and benzodiazepines; further jeopardizing their
recovery.
“With this Alert, we hope to raise awareness among clinicians,
communities, health agencies, advocacy groups and policy makers
about these concerning trends,” said Scott Walton, Millennium
Health Chief Executive Officer. “Now is the time to act. Because
the health consequences of excessive drinking are often delayed,
the impacts of concerning increases in alcohol use in this
vulnerable population could be felt for years to come.”
Methodology
This Signals Alert represents an analysis of urine drug testing
results from urine specimens (N = 434,641) collected between
January 1, 2018, and March 15, 2024. Included specimens were from
patients aged 18 years or older and collected in health care
practices located in all 50 states. A single specimen per patient
was selected based on the earliest collection date. All patient
specimens were associated with an ICD-10 SUD diagnosis code and had
clinician-ordered testing for alcohol. Further detail on the drugs
analyzed and statistical methods is provided in the Alert.
A copy of the alert can be accessed here.
About Millennium Health
Millennium Health is an accredited specialty laboratory
providing medication monitoring via definitive urine and oral fluid
drug tests to support improved clinical decision-making as part of
treatment for millions of Americans with chronic pain, mental
illness, substance use disorders, and other health conditions. Drug
testing is used to obtain objective information about patients’
recent use of prescription medications and/or illicit drugs and
helps monitor the effectiveness of treatment plans. We also conduct
real-time tracking of emerging drug use trends to help researchers,
public health officials, and policymakers address the significant
increase in drug overdose deaths.
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Jody Schneider Millennium Health
Jody.Schneider@millenniumhealth.com 619-917-6810