TY - JOUR
T1 - The Vicodin abuse problem
T2 - A mathematical approach
AU - Caldwell, Wendy K.
AU - Freedman, Benjamin
AU - Settles, Luke
AU - Thomas, Michael M.
AU - Camacho, Erika T.
AU - Wirkus, Stephen
N1 - Funding Information:
This work would not have been possible without the Mathematical and Theoretical Biology Institute. Carlos Castillo-Chavez, Anarina Murillo, Yiqiang Zheng, and Mac Hyman provided technical/theoretical assistance and feedback, and Kamal Barley created the visual representations of the models. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF Grant DMPS-1263374 ), the National Security Agency (NSA Grant H98230-13-1-0261 ), the Office of the President of Arizona State University, and the Office of the Provost of Arizona State University.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019
PY - 2019/12/21
Y1 - 2019/12/21
N2 - The prescription drug epidemic in the United States has gained attention in recent years. Vicodin, along with its generic version, is the country's mostly widely prescribed pain reliever, and it contains a narcotic component that can lead to physical and chemical dependency. The majority of Vicodin abusers were first introduced via prescription, unlike other drugs which are often experienced for the first time due to experimentation. Most abusers report obtaining their supply from a prescription, either their own or someone else's. Although the problem with prescription drug abuse is well known, there is no standard method of addressing the problem. To better understand how to do this, we develop and analyze a mathematical model of Vicodin use and abuse, considering only those patients who were initially prescribed the drug. Through global sensitivity analysis, we show that focusing efforts on abuse prevention rather than treatment has greater success at reducing the population of Vicodin abusers. Our results demonstrate that relying solely on rehabilitation and other treatment programs is not enough to combat the prescription drug problem in the United States. We anticipate that implementing preventative measures in both prescribers and patients will reduce the number of Vicodin abusers.
AB - The prescription drug epidemic in the United States has gained attention in recent years. Vicodin, along with its generic version, is the country's mostly widely prescribed pain reliever, and it contains a narcotic component that can lead to physical and chemical dependency. The majority of Vicodin abusers were first introduced via prescription, unlike other drugs which are often experienced for the first time due to experimentation. Most abusers report obtaining their supply from a prescription, either their own or someone else's. Although the problem with prescription drug abuse is well known, there is no standard method of addressing the problem. To better understand how to do this, we develop and analyze a mathematical model of Vicodin use and abuse, considering only those patients who were initially prescribed the drug. Through global sensitivity analysis, we show that focusing efforts on abuse prevention rather than treatment has greater success at reducing the population of Vicodin abusers. Our results demonstrate that relying solely on rehabilitation and other treatment programs is not enough to combat the prescription drug problem in the United States. We anticipate that implementing preventative measures in both prescribers and patients will reduce the number of Vicodin abusers.
KW - Compartmental model
KW - Prescription drug abuse
KW - Sensitivity analysis
KW - Vicodin abuse
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jtbi.2019.110003
DO - 10.1016/j.jtbi.2019.110003
M3 - Article
C2 - 31513802
AN - SCOPUS:85072295081
SN - 0022-5193
VL - 483
JO - Journal of Theoretical Biology
JF - Journal of Theoretical Biology
M1 - 110003
ER -